Stars Fell on Pallet Town
by Spruceton Spook
Summary: After three years of separation, Ash's parents are finally ready to get a divorce. But Ash is determined to not let this happen. Can he help his parents find their love again before it's too late? Lots of fun for Ash fans and twerpshippers!
1. The Telephone Call

**Stars Fell On Pallet Town**

by Spruceton Spook

Part 1

The Telephone Call

"All right! Finally!" Ash exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air as the sight of the New Bark Town Pokémon Center came into view. The action almost knocked Pikachu off of his shoulders, who had been resting there comfortably for a good part of the afternoon. The Pokémon quickly regained his balance, clinging roughly to Ash's shirt.

"It's about time we're here," Misty said, sighing weakly. "I can hardly feel my feet anymore." She held a sleepy, yet incredibly cranky Togepi in her arms.

"I hear ya," Brock replied with a smile, stuffing the map that had been their guide for the past week into his back pocket. It was a relief to have the blasted thing out of his hands, adding to the natural high he had immediately obtained when they entered the city. The memory of the beautiful Nurse Joy they had met not too long ago instantaneously cascaded back into his mind, and he held his head high and pleasingly as they sauntered up the Center's front walk.

In an act of pure exhaustion, Ash crashed into the Center's front glass doors, nearly stumbling in in the process. Misty and Brock laughed lightly at this, but Misty rapidly grabbed Ash's shirt, reminding him that breaking the doors wouldn't do well for them when it came to requesting a place to stay.

Ash smiled faintly. "Please, Misty. When Nurse Joy sees the mess that we are, she'll practically insist we stay."

Misty giggled. Ash did have a point. They had been traveling through the woods for what seemed like forever, and the unavailability of beds, showers, and essential items had taken its toll on them considerably. Misty hated their long excursions between towns, but nothing beat the feeling of reaching a town after one of them.

The small clock in the waiting room tolled seven as Nurse Joy directed the three weary travelers and their fatigued Pokémon to one of the guest rooms. Even though it was a little early in the evening, Ash, Misty, and Brock's eyelids drooped, yearning to close after being awake since before the crack of dawn. Ash fought the tiredness as much as he could, however, for there was still one more thing he had on his agenda before his day was over.

"First thing's first," Ash announced, throwing his bag to the floor with a loud thud. "Gotta find a phone and call my mom. Brock, do you…Brock?"

Ash's eyes darted around him in the room, trying to find his friend who had suddenly vanished.

Misty sighed heavily and rubbed her temples. "'Scuse me a second," she said, and exited the room. In an instant she returned, both her hands clamped onto fistfuls of Brock's vest as she shoved him forcefully in the room.

"I'm too tired to be monitoring you now, Brock," Misty said, her voice retaining a bit of warning. She huffed in annoyance as Brock smiled innocently at her. "Leave that poor woman alone, for God's sake."

Brock lamented sadly and looked at the floor. "She _remembered_ me, though! Do you know how good that makes my chance?"

"What, for her to describe you more easily to the authorities?" Misty retorted, plopping down onto the bed. She held Togepi over her head and cooed soothingly to the Pokémon.

Brock was just about to reply when Ash groaned impatiently. "Come on, let's go call Mom now. I thought you guys wanted to wish her a happy birthday, too?"

Misty hopped up from her sprawled position. "Ooh, yeah, that's right. Let's go!"

Ash walked promptly to the pay phones in the lobby, a small, nervous smile spreading across his face. "I just hope Mom's not upset that I'm a day late," he told his friends. "Don't want her to think I forgot or anything."

Brock shrugged. "We were still in the forest. She'll understand."

Ash knew that was true, and that he was foolish to even worry about such an inconsequential thing. All he could think of the day before was his mom, most likely spending her thirty-first birthday home alone. He hoped that Professor Oak or at least Tracey paid her a visit, filling the position Ash wished he had. But he was far from home now, with no intention of going there, either, and a phone call was his only way of speaking to and seeing her.

Pikachu hopped onto the shelf beside the phone as Ash began to dial the number. Misty and Brock stood behind him, Brock occasionally peeking over his shoulder to see what Nurse Joy was up to. Scratching his head, Ash waited as the phone rang again and again, getting a little fidgety.

_Please answer, Mom_, Ash thought, but his thoughts were abruptly interrupted when the shaky voice of his mother answered.

"Hello?" Delia said so apathetically and dryly that Ash startled. His eyes widened frightfully.

"Mom?" Ash asked, concern spreading through his voice. The presence of grief was so evident in her voice that Ash's heart started to race. The black screen before him with the words 'voice only' didn't help calm his nerves much, either.

A short sigh came from the other end. "Oh, Ash! Hi, sweetie. How are you?" she asked, her choked-up and upset voice lightening a little.

"Fine, Mom," Ash said quickly. "Wh--what's wrong?"

"Hmm? Nothing," Delia answered, muffling the words. "Nothing. Uh, where are you?"

At that instant, a small but clearly unmistakable sob escaped from her throat, floating to the ear of her son. The cheery disposition she normally displayed, especially during the rare calls from Ash, was nowhere to be found.

Ash sat in silence for a moment, throwing a worried glance up at Misty and Brock, who looked down confusingly at him. Misty's eyes narrowed in uneasiness, giving Ash a highly recognizable 'what's the matter?' look. Ash didn't assist her much, as his head turned back to the screen.

"Mom, what's the matter? Are you okay?"

"Ash, I'm fine," she answered, forcing a small chuckle.

"Are you sure?" Ash replied. "You don't _sound _all right."

Misty looked at Brock, who shrugged in confusion. They had moved to either side of Ash now, looking down at his distraught face. They wished that the picture phone would go on so that they could at least know what was happening. But the dark, black screen remained, Ash's eyes glued to it religiously.

"Ash, it's _nothing_," insisted Delia, her garbled words stinging Ash's ears. She sounded almost like someone with unclear sinuses, suffering from the pressure and the uncomfortable lingering of a stuffy nose. "I'm fine, trust me."

Ash's face scrunched up. "Well…can you put the picture phone on? I wanna see ya, Ma."

It would comfort him so much more if he could see her. If she would just let him see her, then everything would be fine. Hopefully. Secretly, deep down, he wanted to see if she was crying. It was quite apparent now that she was definitely not her habitual self, and that worried him. Her dysfunctional array of speech was enough to make him lose his senses in any minute.

"No…no, Ash, that's all right," she answered, causing Ash's stomach to flip-flop. "So tell me, what's up?"

Ash was utterly astonished, and his jaw practically dropped to the floor. "Mom?! C'mon, put yourself on the picture phone. Please?"

Misty and Brock looked at each other again. Misty mouthed a 'what's going on?' to him, but Brock had no clue. He scratched his head in frustration and confusion, wondering himself just what the hell was going on. None of Ash's routine phone calls ever went this way.

Delia sighed again, this time in affliction. "No, Ash…I—I just woke up. You don't want to see me right now. I'm a mess." At this, she uttered a small laugh—or her attempt at one, at least.

Ash was somewhat appalled. "Mom! It's me! I don't care what you look like. I just wanna see you!"

He didn't even know why she was sleeping, anyway. It was only seven to begin with, and on a regular basis Ash never saw his mom turn in until way after ten. A small thought occurred to him that she might be sick, which could be possible, but that would only be confirmed with her image.

After a long pause, which to Ash seemed like an eternity, the screen finally came to life. His image, in turn, was transferred to her, which calmed her nerves instantly, while, on the contrary, Ash's heart took a leap as his mom's greatly troubled eyes met his own.

Ash couldn't believe how she looked. Her brown eyes were flushed red, as well as her cheeks, which Ash winced at the sight of, looking all sore as they did. Her eyes were glistening with the promise of new tears, which Ash had ultimately feared. Her face sagged unhappily, but a small half smile came to it when she saw Ash. Only her son didn't return the expression, instead frowning frighteningly at her appearance.

"Oh man, what's wrong?!" Ash shouted. "You _are _crying!"

Misty and Brock looked at the screen as soon as it turned on, shocked as well. Brock squatted down beside Ash, and stared deeply into the eyes of Ash's mom. He had never seen her so upset, and neither had Misty for that matter. It was new to them, and distressed them all the more.

Delia forced another smile, looking down at the floor. "I'm not crying, honey. I told you, I just woke up! My eyes aren't quite adjusted to the light yet."

Ash's heart sank. He sighed and shook his head, looking his mother straight in the eye. "Mom, I'm not an idiot," he said simply. "I know you're crying."

"I'm not crying!" she suddenly shouted, making Ash flinch. She glared at him, but immediately her face softened, knowing that upsetting Ash right now was not the best thing to do. She took a deep breath. "Okay…okay. I was watching a movie, all right? It was sad," she laughed a little, "but I'll admit, I cried at it, okay? It was sad!"

She forced another smile to her lips, which was so apparent to Ash that he would bet all his Pokémon on it. And the way she was stumbling over and rushing through her sentences overlooked something else, something she was hiding.

Feeling defeated, Ash shrugged. "Whatever you say," he replied unemotionally. He looked down at the floor, waiting for his mom to say something. Misty and Brock looked away, as well, feeling a little uncomfortable themselves. If Ash were to ask them, they would immediately have agreed with him that Delia was crying…or had been pretty hard recently.

Ash returned his gaze back to his mom. He knew that he was irritating her now, so he decided to cut to the chase. "Um…I—Happy Birthday."

She looked up at him and smiled, this time sincerely. "Thank you. Guess you were away yesterday, huh?"

"In the woods," Ash replied, still not smiling. He hadn't since he heard his mom answer the phone. "How…was your birthday? Okay?"

Delia nodded gently. "Fine."

"That's good."

Brock suddenly popped his head in front of Ash's, and gave Delia a toothy smile. "Hiya, Mrs. Ketchum," he said. "Happy Birthday!"

"Happy Birthday from me, too!" Misty added, erasing Delia's view of Ash completely now.

Delia giggled. "Thanks, you guys. Everything's all right?"

They nodded, and each said good-bye, knowing that Ash probably wanted to go back on again. Surprisingly to them, Ash told his mom that he needed to go. What he didn't tell her was how uncomfortable the call was still making him, and the sooner he got off, the better.

Delia looked a little downcast again, but she smiled slightly. "Okay. Sleep well. I love ya."

"Love ya, too," Ash replied, returning the smile weakly. He hung the phone up on the cradle, and stared into space for a good minute. It was Misty who broke him out of his trance, smacking him softly on his shoulder.

"That was weird," she said, folding her arms in front of her.

"Yeah, your mom didn't look too good," Brock added sadly. "What do you think's wrong with her?"

Ash shook his head apathetically, his mind carrying a million thoughts at once. "I don't know," he finally uttered. "But it's scaring me."

Misty nodded. "She was _definitely_ crying," she said seriously. "I mean, that was so obvious."

"Mmhmm," agreed Brock. "What would be bothering her so much, though?"

Misty and Brock looked at Ash, who simply could not answer the question. After a short pause, he looked up at them, worry flooding his eyes.

"I have to go see her," he announced, his voice shaking. "We have to head for Pallet Town tomorrow. I mean, I have to see what's happening. She's hiding something, I just know it."

His friends had absolutely no objection to it, especially after seeing the pain in Ash's face. They nodded gently, and Misty gave him a soft smile.

"Don't worry," she soothed. "I'm sure everything's just fine."

Ash glanced at the floor. "I hope so."

That night, while Misty and Brock dreamed happily away, Ash lay awake in bed, his mind spinning. His mom was lying about the whole thing, but why? Yeah, of course there may have been the slight possibility that she _had_ been watching a sad movie, but what excuse was that to treat him so distantly on the phone?

Clenching his eyes shut, Ash knew he had to get some sleep. If they were going to start for Pallet tomorrow, which was a good couple miles away, he had to rest. Hopefully, he would be home tomorrow.

TO BE CONTINUED . . .

Like it? Hate it? Tell me what you think! Taking a stab at drama now, and the whole mystery of Ash's family. Oh yes, and I promised you romance, too, didn't I? They'll be plenty of that, don't worry! I consider myself a "parentshipper", one who wants to see a reunion between Ash's mom and dad. I don't know if there's an official name for it or even if a type of shippiness like that exists, so I made one up. Please review! Part 2 coming soon.


	2. Surprise in Pallet

**Stars Fell on Pallet Town**

by Spruceton Spook

Part 2

Surprise in Pallet

"Ash, come on! Wait up!" Misty called to her friend, who was easily a hundred yards ahead. Misty and Brock were walking at a more relaxed pace, but there was no stopping Ash, who had been walking at an incredibly swift pace as soon as they left New Bark Town.

Ash didn't answer, his head focused straight ahead, jumping a little on the balls of his feet at each step he took. Pikachu had made an attempt to keep up, finally having to leap onto Ash's shoulders to stay with him. The ride was a little bumpy, but Pikachu was not ready to leave Ash in this nervous situation he had become involved with.

Misty looked up at Brock, scrunching her face in exhaustion. "Brock, we can't keep going on like this! We've been walking _way _too long!"

Brock groaned. "I know, I know, Misty."

They had been walking for six straight hours, in fact. Without a bit of food in their stomachs, they had left the Pokémon Center, barely glancing back, Ash more destined than ever to go home. In the beginning, Misty and Brock kept up steadily with Ash, the concern for Mrs. Ketchum still floating in their minds since the phone call the night before. But after a while, their feet became achy, and slowly Ash inched his way ahead of them. Fatigue reached them, and little did they know that it had reached Ash as well, but the boy had too much to think of to even worry about his physical condition.

Finally, Brock sighed considerably. "Ash! Let's take a rest now, whaddah ya say?"

Pikachu agreed with Brock, tapping Ash lightly on the shoulder. "Pika pi, pikachu," he said softly, encouraging his trainer to consider stopping for a while.

Ash spun around on his heels, and continued to walk backwards. He looked determinedly at Misty and Brock, and he shook his head hastily.

"No way," he insisted. "My mom needs me. I'm getting to Pallet Town _tonight _whether it kills me or not!"

"But Ash, it _will_ kill you!" Misty shouted, halting to a stop. She grabbed Brock to make him stop as well, trying to make a stand against Ash's tireless march. "You have to rest sometime! This is ridiculous."

In agreement, Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder and rushed to Misty's side. Twitching his ears, he looked back worriedly at Ash, who had slowed a bit but still did not stop. Ash shook his head again, despite the fact that now his own Pokémon was against him.

"Fine, rest if you want," Ash called back, turning around again. "Meet ya in Pallet Town!"

"Ash Ketchum, get back here right now!" Misty ordered angrily, stomping her foot heavily on the ground. "Please!"

Ash didn't answer, and continued ahead. Misty started to breathe heavily, concern for her friend rising in her like steam. She feared him collapsing eventually, his poor legs too tired to even support him any longer. Again, she looked to Brock, whose intentions had seemed to already match hers. In a second, Brock dashed off after Ash, and grabbed him from behind.

Struggling out of Brock's grasp, Ash's eyes raged. "Let me go, Brock!"

Brock held tightly onto Ash, who was putting up quite a fight but still could not seem to escape the clutches of his older and stronger friend.

"Ash, you have to rest now!" Brock demanded sternly. "Sit down and stay down!"

"No!" Ash protested, but he allowed Brock to force him down anyway on a log beside the worn path they had been traveling on. He rested his head in his hands as Misty and Pikachu rushed up to his side.

"Please Ash," Misty said, "we're just concerned about you. We don't want you to get hurt."

"Pi pikachu!" affirmed Pikachu, rubbing his head affectionately on Ash's leg.

Ash gazed up angrily at Misty. "You're hurting me by keeping me from moving!"

"Come on, settle down now," Brock said, shushing his frustrated friend. "You need to drink, at least." He handed Ash a full bottle of water, which Ash graciously accepted and quaffed down enthusiastically.

Misty stared deeply at Ash while she drank her water, observing the anxiety flashing in his eyes and the way he hung his head. He was tired, but he didn't want to admit it. Or accept it, for that matter. Aside from the concern that Misty was feeling for Ash, she still had a small conviction that maybe Ash was fussing over what could very well be nothing. Nonetheless, she could not stand to see Ash so downcast.

She moved closer to him on the log. With a small grin, she playfully nudged Ash's shoulder, hoping to cheer him up just a little. Ash swayed from the light impact, but his eyes stared ahead and he took a deep and thoughtful breath, letting the air escape in a loud sigh.

"Cheer up, Ash," Misty said softly with a smile. "We'll get to Pallet Town today. Won't we, Brock?"

Although he wasn't quite sure, Brock nodded anyway, knowing that saying that it may take them another day would distress Ash even more. They could make it to Pallet Town all right, but they would have to keep at the same preposterous pace that Ash had been traveling at, and they would definitely not make it there in the daylight.

Misty smiled at Ash again, a gentle, warm smile that she kept fixated on him. Finally Ash looked up at her, but his face lacked so much emotion that Misty shuddered. They had to get him to Pallet Town and fast. Misty decided that right then and there. She, too, wondered what had upset Delia so much to the extent that she wasn't truthful with her own son, and this fed her persistence even more.

After resting for about a half an hour, which was hardly enough for the weary kids, they set off again, Ash leading slightly. Misty and Brock had enough energy to keep up with him now, but Ash still always seemed to be miles ahead of them, both physically and mentally. Misty found some comfort in chatting airily with Brock, after many unsuccessful attempts to start a conversation with Ash. She wanted so badly to break him out of his shell, but it seemed to be no use after a while.

As if by the grace of God, the trio reached the green valley containing Pallet Town around seven. The sun was beginning its descent behind the lush, rolling mountains, making the sky a beautiful array of oranges, reds, and blues. Misty looked up at the heavenly sky, and commented on how gorgeous it looked to Ash, who simply just hummed in agreement. That attitude didn't last for long, however.

"Yes! We made it! We made it!" Ash exclaimed ecstatically as soon as he caught sight of houses, letting out joyous whoops, breaking out of the perpetual silence he had fallen into hours before. The surprising expression of emotion sent Brock and Misty flying back a few feet, but they smiled in relief nevertheless.

Brock wiped his forehead. "I can't believe we made it here," he said incredulously, shaking his head.

Misty chuckled. "I think I lost ten pounds today."

"Yay! Home, home!" Ash screamed, and in an instant, he darted off in a sprint, picking up more and more speed as he rushed toward the town.

"Whoa! Ash, hold on!" Brock cried after him, as he and Misty took off as well.

All the hours of walking had simply vanished from his memory as Ash flew through the streets of his hometown, the sights of the stores, parks, and homes racing by in a blur. Misty and Brock were yards away, the exhaustion of the day affecting them more. They were still resolute to stay with him, and not lose him in the town they knew just a little about.

Misty felt like she was going to collapse, but she pumped her legs harder instead, keeping the bumpy vision of Ash in her sight. Brock pulled a little ahead of her, which helped her keep the pace and run harder. He was still ahead, though, and glanced back a couple of times to make sure Misty was keeping up with him.

"Ash, slow down!" Brock tried again, though he knew he was wasting his time. They were nearing Ash's street anyway, and nothing was going to get in Ash's way.

Ash almost collided with a few unfortunate people at some points, but he never slowed or turned around. His heart pumped vigorously, adrenaline rushing through his veins. A huge smile of relief took over his face as the sight of his house entered his eyes and he breathed out in loud gasps.

Pikachu, who was clinging onto Ash for dear life, also recognized the house, and let himself slip off Ash. He then continued at his own pace after Ash, Misty and Brock eventually meeting up with him.

Ash almost broke through the fence in front of his house, slipping slightly as he made a sharp turn onto his front walk. His legs shook tiredly as he reached his front door, and he leaned forward to rest on his knees. The resting period lasted no longer than a couple of seconds, and he immediately pounded heavily on the front door, forgetting all about the doorbell that hung right beside it.

There was silence, and Ash banged again like a madman. Misty and Brock approached as Ash made the second attempt at the door, gasping for precious oxygen, figuring they had just ran a mile or two at a full run.

"Who is it?" A nervous voice floated from behind the door, bringing Ash's head up. Ash immediately recognized the relaxing, familiar voice of his mom, and an exhausted smile came to his face.

"Mom! It's me! It's me! Ash!" Ash hollered happily in between puffs of breath, his heart still racing.

"Ash?" Delia asked surprisingly, and the door opened not a second later. Without hesitation, Ash leapt into the arms of his mother, embracing her in a full-out hug. He clenched his eyes closed blissfully, the warm, comforting feeling of being back in her protective arms filling his body. Only this time he felt that he was protecting her, or would from whatever was bothering her.

"Ash, this…this is a surprise," Delia said, shocked, holding Ash in her arms.

"I came home to see you, Mom," Ash said softly and lovingly, waiting for his mom to reply. A chill ran through his body suddenly, though, when she didn't. In fact, Ash could feel that his mom's hug wasn't as tight as it usually was. Although he was close to her, she felt miles away, and his heart began to sink.

Ash pulled back and looked deeply into Delia's eyes. Worry filled him again as her eyes spelt out wariness, and the small smile she was creating curved nervously.

"Mom?" Ash asked, fear breaking through his voice. "What's wrong? Mom?"

Delia took a deep breath, and looked at the floor. Silence took over the room. Almost immediately, as if a bullet struck him, Ash could feel the floor shift underneath him, and the presence of someone behind his mother made his heart skip a beat. Maneuvering his head around Delia's, his eyes widened at the sight of the handsome, dark-haired man standing in the doorway of the kitchen, smiling warmly back at him.

"Dad?" Ash asked in disbelief.

TO BE CONTINUED . . .

Like _that_ was much of a surprise, huh? I practically gave away half the story in the summary! LOL Anyway, I hope it was a _little _bit of a shock. But if it wasn't, it's no big deal. This fic will mostly center Ash and his family. Plenty of Misty and Brock in it, too. I may go out on a limb with the details and such about his family, since those are very rare, but don't kill me if you don't agree with them. This is just what I think happened, and I'm not even sure myself. Hope you're enjoying it! Please send me your comments. I don't freeze my butt off writing this in my basement for nothing! _Heehee_ :)


	3. The Reunion

**Stars Fell on Pallet Town**

by Spruceton Spook

Part 3

The Reunion

A small sensation of astonishment swept through Ash's body. His father smiled affably at him, raising his eyebrow in a friendly 'are you gonna stand there all day?' gesture, as he leaned casually on the frame of the door.

Misty and Brock were also drawn back at this, but they had noticed him there almost right after Ash had leapt into Delia's arms. They knew immediately that it was Ash's dad, recognizing him from photos that Ash had shown them and that hung in various places of the house. In an instant, Misty fell head over heels for this mysterious man standing there, his crystal brown eyes and gentle, bright smile soaking into her.

After the surprising impact finally seeped its way into Ash's system, a wide smile of ecstasy spread across his face. Like a bolt, he rushed instantly to his dad, unable to breathe, unable to think, unable to notice anything but him.

"Dad!" Ash repeated, only this time in utter glee, as he collided into his dad's arms.

"Ashton! Hey, hey, come 'ere, you!" said Jacey Ketchum with a laugh, accepted Ash into his arms, raising him several feet above the ground and swinging him around. Although Ash was a lot heavier then he had been, it didn't matter as Jay held him in front of his face to get a good look at the son he hadn't seen in three years.

For a moment, they just smiled at each other, after which Jay brought him closer to engulf him in a tremendous bear hug. Ash clutched his arms tightly around his dad's neck, squeezing gently. His feet dangled at his dad's knees, knocking into them ever so softly.

"Dad, you're home! You're home!" Ash cried benevolently, not attempting at all to break from the hug.

As they hugged, Misty, Brock, and Delia looked on, their mouths slightly agape in awe and emotion. Delia finally smiled sincerely, tears coming to her eyes at the sight of the reunion. She fought them as hard as she could, wrapping her arms tightly around her body. It struck her dead-center in the heart to see Ash finally with Jay again, something she wished she could have provided him with for a long time.

Misty and Brock, in the meantime, couldn't believe the event that was unfolding in front of them. Misty especially found it touching, tears coming to her eyes as well, as she watched Jay sway back and forth with his backpacked son in his arms, eyes clenched shut in bliss. Brock understood well, the reunion with his own father coming back to him, though it was not nearly as nice as this one was.

Jay pulled Ash away from him slowly, groaning jokingly as he placed him gently on the floor. "My God, you've gotten heavy!" he laughed, kneeling down to Ash's eye level. He turned to Delia with a grin. "What've you been feeding this kid?"

Delia chuckled, bringing her hand up to brush some hair out of her face. "Ten months out of the year, I don't feed him anything!"

Misty and Brock smiled huge toothy-grins, not feeling a bit out of place as they imagined they should, nodding in truthful agreement.

Jay turned back to Ash and rubbed his hands up and down his son's arms. "Well, he must be eatin' _something_. Pokémon trainers need to eat to keep up their strength. Right, Ash?"

"Believe me, he eats plenty," Brock said, laughing. "I feel like I'm cooking for four sometimes!"

Ash laughed at Brock's statement. He was glad that one of his friends had spoken up, partly because in the spur of things he had forgotten they were there. As soon as the realization of their presence came to him, he turned to Jay.

"Dad, this is—"

"Misty and Brock, right?" Jay finished, looking at them standing in the entranceway of the house. He smiled welcomingly at them. "Delia's told me a lot about you two. Help keep Ash out of trouble, I hear."

Misty and Brock giggled.

"We do what we can, Mr. Ketchum," said Misty, Togepi squealing in her arms.

The baby Pokémon caught Jay's attention, and he got up to examine Togepi more closely. Misty gazed down at Togepi, who cried happily as Jay tickled the Pokémon's face.

"Cute little critter ya got there," Jay told her, looking up into her face. "Seen a couple of these myself."

Misty's eyes widened. "Really? Ya have? This is the only we've ever seen."

Jay nodded, standing. In an instant, Misty saw an older version of Ash flash in front of her. It was almost scary, in fact. It was quite evident now that Ash got all his looks from his father, and if Ash were to grow up to be this handsome… Misty shook her head, laughing to herself about her crazy thoughts.

"Hey, Dad! I was the one who found Togepi!" Ash announced, rushing to Jay's side once again.

Misty sighed and tsk-tsked, amused at the way Ash was instantly groping for his dad's attention. There was absolutely nothing wrong with that, though, but Misty found it to be the same old attitude Ash always portrayed.

Jay glanced down at Ash. "Is that so?"

Ash nodded. ''Course, he was only an egg at the time. When he hatched, he took a liking to Misty, so I just had to give him to her."

Misty huffed in shock, though she smiled. "You little sneak! I had to practically battle you all day for Togepi!" She pointed accusingly at Ash. "Don't believe him!" she laughed.

Jay found it funny, though, grabbing Ash and shaking him gently and playfully. Ash laughed, and Jay stopped to look at his son again. Ash returned his gaze right back to his father's eyes as Pikachu found it the perfect opportunity to hop onto Ash's shoulder. In the excitement of the event, the Pokémon had been overlooked, feeling he needed to make his appearance now.

Ash snickered as he felt the familiar impact of Pikachu landing on his shoulder. "Hey, Dad, I'm sure Mom's told you a lot about Pikachu, huh?"

"She most certainly did," Jay replied, reaching up to stroke Pikachu's soft head. "My little boy's first Pokémon. He's beautiful. Raised him very well."

"Thanks," Ash said. "He's my best buddy, right, Pikachu?"

"Pikachu!" answered Pikachu pleasantly. He still had his eyes shut as Jay petted his head smoothly and scratched under his chin.

"I'm glad," Jay answered. He pulled his hand from Pikachu, then brought it up again to snatch Ash's Pokémon League hat off his head.

"You still wearing this old thing?" he said, turning it around in his hands. "I remember when you got this."

Ash looked at it proudly. "Never a moment goes by without it being on my head."

Delia shook her head. "I know. I keep telling him he's gonna go bald."

Jay plopped the dirty hat back onto Ash's head. "Oh, let 'im wear it," he said. "Probably brings you all that good luck, doesn't it?"

"It sure does!" Ash answered with a chuckle.

Ash breathed in deeply, finally allowing himself to fully digest the moment. In all the months he had been traveling and returning home, he had prayed that his father would have been there to greet him. It didn't bring him much disappointment when he wasn't, however, because deep down Ash knew he wouldn't be. It was just a small desire he craved. But he felt it was an unfair desire.

He hadn't seen Jay in three years, and now that Ash's excitement was finally being calmed, memories he could never seem to purge were flushing back into his head. Things he didn't want to associate with Jay were there whether he wanted them to be or not, and it was killing him. As he looked into his father's face momentarily, Ash could feel pain coming back to him.

When he was eight, Ash felt his family was perfect. To him, they _were_ perfect; there was no doubt about that. But things had suddenly taken a drastic turn, and an unfortunate Ash was caught in the middle. He didn't have to be, but he found himself there, anyhow. His parents barely fought…_ever_. Of course, they did have arguments sometimes, but they were so harmless, so insignificant that they never scared or upset Ash.

Soon, however, Ash started becoming upset. The mere arguments had become fights, fights he couldn't ever tolerate listening to. The first real fight came one evening out of nowhere, after he had gone to bed.

He was awakened near two A.M., hearing the voices of his mom and dad clearly and loudly from behind his wall. For a moment, he was relieved to hear his dad's voice, and he became overjoyed. Jay hadn't come home that night, and Ash had gone to bed worried. His mom soothed him to sleep, telling him not to worry, that his dad was just working late. Ash nodded his head, though the look of doubt in Delia's face frightened him. She looked even more worried and sad then he himself felt.

When he heard the yelling, he was tempted to get up and see what was happening, but he felt glued to his bed. He pressed his ear up against the wall, making out various words and sentences his parents were emitting. That's when he heard his mom asking where Jay had been. Ash's eyes had widened, recalling Delia _telling_ him that she knew where he was.

The next couple of days had proven to be Ash's worst. An unshakable fear filled him when he noticed that his parents were not speaking to each other. A couple of times, Ash would ask what was happening, but neither of them seemed to want to talk about it. He knew somehow that their silence just _had_ something to do with that fight, but he had no idea what the fight had been about.

Finally one night, Ash found his mom crying in her room. Immediately, he rushed to her side, wrapping his arms around her. Her crying caused him to start crying as well, and Ash sobbed for her to tell him what was wrong. Delia looked at him nervously, streams of tears running down her cheeks. Ash yearned to know what was happening, and the look of demand he'd given her at that point made her realize that she had to tell him, better now than ever.

Delia looked dead-set into his eyes. "Daddy likes another girl, Ash," she told him simply, her voice cracking in sobs. Ash could remember her telling him this perfectly, word for word, for it implanted itself into his memory. At that moment, he suddenly understood. He asked for no explanation, for he didn't need one.

After that, Jay came around less and less. He came home a few times a week, usually to see Ash or to get some of his things. All communication between him and Delia had ceased. Well, Delia's end at least. Ash caught them together occasionally, but all it consisted of was his father's apologies and hopes to make things right, to start over. When Ash was alone with Jay, he asked with optimism if he was coming home soon. Jay would hug him, and say he hoped, but that was all. This caused Ash to become angry with his parents.

Soon after, despite his pleas with his parents to stop this stupidity, Jay had stopped coming around. Delia moped around the house endlessly, making Ash wonder if she really wanted Jay to leave at all. She gave more attention to him, however, promising him ceaselessly that he didn't have to worry. Everything was going to be okay.

But that was it. Everything went on, the only times Ash ever communicating with his dad was via phone, and even that was a heartache for him. He had no idea where he was, what he was doing, wondering if he missed them at all. Jay hadn't stepped foot in their house since that time, and seeing him in front of him—i_n person_—right now, Ash couldn't help but ponder.

"So, Dad…" Ash said softly, being as inconspicuous as he possibly could, "why ya home?"

There. It came out. He braced for the reply.

"Um," Jay uttered, looking nervously at Delia. Once again, Delia brushing another stand of her auburn hair out of her face, and raised one eyebrow nervously. Jay looked down at Ash again, and smiled. "Just a visit."

"Just a visit?" Ash replied.

"Yeah," Jay shrugged. "You know, I was in the neighborhood. I, uh, remembered that the other day was your mother's birthday and all, so I came by to, ya know, wish her a happy one."

"Oh," was all Ash said.

Jay could feel the uneasiness coming from his son. He knew that his reason for coming was still confusing Ash no doubt, so he smiled reassuringly at him.

"But that doesn't matter, now, does it?" he asked. "I'm home, you're home…and _you_…" he pointed at Ash with a grin, "…have to tell me all about your training. All I know is that I see a couple of awesome trophies in your room that need explaining."

Ash laughed, becoming mesmerized once again with his dad's comforting, friendly face. "Did you see my cool Orange Islands League trophy?" he asked with a hopeful glint in his eyes.

Jay nodded. "Sure did," he replied, crossing his arms proudly. "Hear those are hard to come by, huh?"

"Well…" Ash said, scratching the back of his head embarrassingly.

Just then, Delia came by to rub Ash's shoulders. "Tell ya what," she said, planting a motherly kiss on his head, "why don't you guys go upstairs and get settled, and we can talk all about that stuff at dinner time. Okay?"

"Oh, okay," Ash agreed, signaling to Brock and Misty to follow him upstairs. "We won't be long."

"Okay!" Delia said with a smile, folding her arms around her again.

Ash, Misty, and Brock hopped up the stairs, trudging their heavy backpacks full of fresh supplies from New Bark Town behind them. As they went up, Ash gave them a shocked 'can you believe this?' face, which in turn they widened their eyes excitedly at. This was going to be _one _interesting break from training.

As the kids disappeared up the stairs, Jay found himself looking nervously at his wife. Delia felt his eyes on her, and looked up at him with a small, apathetic grin.

"So?" Jay asked, his wild and friendly tone turning serious in one word. "When are you going to tell him why I'm _really_ here?"

Delia took a deep breath and looked up at the stairs sadly. She thought intensely about her son, wondering just how he was going to take the news.

"Not yet," she replied, moving toward the kitchen in hopes of starting supper. "Just—not yet."

TO BE CONTINUED . . .

Yeah, I know, I know. I made up _a lot_ of stuff in this part. But I guess that's expected of people who write these kind of stories, right? Anyway, nobody really doesn't know anything about Ash's past and just what the hell did go on with his family. All I know is, is that (from various websites) Ash's father (whose name I made up totally!) was unfaithful to Delia, but we don't know in what sense. I just figured he cheated on her. And I definitely know that Ash's dad _is not_ Giovanni, which was proven in _Pokémon Live!_, in which Mrs. Ketchum herself tells us this. (Don't believe me, go to Bulbagarden!) Anyway, more to come, definitely. Please review and tell me what you think.


	4. The Discovery

**Stars Fell on Pallet Town**

by Spruceton Spook

Part 4

The Discovery

Ash pushed the door open to his room wildly, causing it to swing back furiously on its hinges at Misty and Brock. Brock blocked the collision with his hand, allowing Misty to go in before him. On normal occasions, they would have yelled at Ash, but today was different.

Ash tossed his backpack into the corner of the room, having swung it around recklessly a couple times beforehand. Misty and Brock carefully placed their belongings off to the side, an action that felt too good to be true.

Grinning from ear to ear, Ash bounced around on his fidgety feet. "I can't believe this. I just can't believe this!" he uttered in astonishment.

"Yeah, that was quite a surprise," Misty agreed, flashing an amazed expression as well. "Who woulda thought?"

Ash jumped in place, seeming to ignore Misty's comment. "My dad is home! This is sooo great!" He calmed himself for a moment. "I've been dreaming of this for so long."

Misty and Brock smiled.

"Wow, this must really be something for you," Brock said. "I mean, I can remember when my dad came back. Man, that was a shock. But this must be different for you. At least you _wanted_ him back."

Ash shook with thrill. "Oh man, it is! And _he's right downstairs_!" He said this in a sort of whispered, mystical tone, as if the impossible had just occurred.

Misty sighed, placing her tired Togepi on Ash's bed. "Well, your mom told us to get settled." She smiled at Brock. "All I know is, I haven't sat down in _hours_ and my legs are killing me!"

Brock returned the smile happily. "Sitting down sounds good to me!" he concluded. "Besides, dinner might not be done for a while."

Ash's heart pounded. "Well, I don't care what you guys do! I'm goin' down to see my dad."

"But wait a second, Ash!" Brock said suddenly, interrupting Ash's intentions of going downstairs. Brock shrugged momentarily and looked confusingly at the two of them, who looked just as confused back at him.

Ash waited for Brock to answer, so Brock hesitated none in continuing. "What about your mom?" Misty's eyebrows rose, and she looked at Ash. "Didn't we come here because she was crying, or what?"

Ash looked pensively at the floor. All of sudden, the recollection came back to him, and he found himself asking the same question. Then there was also the situation at the door, when Delia hadn't hugged him quite as strongly as she usually did, but he had just assumed it was because it was such an unexpected surprise. The whole situation with his dad had completely deleted his memory and worry of his mom's depression, though.

He shrugged, frowning slightly. "I dunno. But everything must be all right now. My dad's home!"

Misty tensed at this. She was about to say something, but stalled herself, smiling and shrugging wordlessly anyway.

Wild excitement raged through Ash's body, and being in his room suddenly made him feel claustrophobic. The thought of his dad being right downstairs stimulated his nerves, and he felt just like a person who had his hands tied while having a million dollars waved teasingly in front of his face. He took off immediately out of his room, Pikachu tagging right behind.

Misty just sighed again and collapsed in one of Ash's chairs. She brought her hands up to her face and rubbed her throbbing temples. She'd had a headache practically all day, and the current excitement had helplessly added to it. Brock groaned as he settled beside her on the floor.

"Well?" he asked curiously. "What do you think about this?"

Misty found herself at a loss for words. She felt happy for Ash, but Brock's sudden reminder of why they were really there disturbed her. Since she and Brock had been on the sidelines for most of that dramatic moment, she had found her eyes darting back and forth from Ash to his dad to his mom. Weirdly enough, Delia didn't seem as excited as she assumed she would be. She looked kind of…reluctant.

"Misty?" Brock finally asked, waving his hand in front of her face. She looked at him and he grinned. "You still with me?"

"Yeah," Misty chuckled, rubbing her eyes. "Just getting tired, I guess. What did you ask?"

"What you thought about this whole thing," Brock replied.

Misty shrugged. "I'm happy for Ash, I guess. Personally, I'm in shock right now. I think I'm in more shock than he is!"

"Well, Ash is just excited," said Brock, kicking his shoes off. The freeing of his poor, aching feet sent a wave of pleasure rushing through his legs. "The shock will hit him later, I think."

Misty smiled agreeably. "I like his dad."

"Me too," Brock agreed. Suddenly he yawned. "God, I'm tired."

"Well, there's no better place to sleep than in Pallet," Misty commented, starting to kick off her shoes as well. "I'm ready to sleep right now."

Brock patted her shoulder. "Well, gotta have dinner first. Come on, let's go down. They're probably wondering where we are."

"You're right," Misty said, getting up from the chair, a struggle in itself. Her legs pained dully as she lifted herself to her feet again, and she limped slightly as she and Brock made their way out of Ash's room and headed downstairs.

"So, Ash, you still have that Charizard of yours?" Jay asked later that night, as the five of them were seated around the table, devouring Delia's delicious chicken stir-fry eagerly.

Ash swallowed his food, looking up at him a little disappointedly. "I left him behind in Johto."

Jay's eyes widened, and he looked at Misty and Brock, who confirmed it with a nod. "You did? Why? Don't tell me because of what he did to you at the Pokémon League!"

Ash smiled weakly. "Nah, it wasn't that. He wanted to be with his own kind. I'll go back for him…someday. I just needed to start thinking about what he wanted."

Jay nodded, looking admiringly at Ash as he helped himself to more food. More than half of the conversations during dinner had been between Ash and his dad. Misty and Brock sat and listened in on Ash's retelling of all their adventures, both in the Indigo and Orange Leagues, as well as Johto, of course.

Ash was having the time of his life talking with his dad. He loved the way he listened attentively to his every word, his eyes glistening and widening more at Ash's accounts of his battles, his training, and his recent captures. Laughter came up again and again, the mix of the good meal and happy memories bringing the five close together.

It was only in the middle of the dinner that Jay recognized Brock as the Pewter City gymleader, which Brock smiled modestly to. Before he got all of the attention, Ash told Jay of Misty's position as well. Jay was pleasantly surprised, telling her that he had heard of the Sensational Sisters, but had never met one. Misty just grinned and introduced herself jokingly, setting the whole table off in laughter. All but one.

Ash felt a twinge of worry as he looked at his mom, who had just smiled dully at the jokes and funny stories that had been brought up during the dinner. She had been silent but attentive the whole time, listening to Ash's stories with a small smile on her face. Ash could feel uneasiness radiating out of her now, and the feeling of disturbance returned to him.

"Are you okay, Mom?" he asked worriedly.

Delia looked up at him immediately and smiled. "Sure I am, dear. Why you ask?"

"Well, you're so quiet," Ash told her softly, his eyes melting into her.

Misty and Brock sat quietly, looking down at their dinner and trying not to look like they were paying much attention.

Ash didn't care anymore. He arched his back and looked into her face. "Are you still upset about last night?"

Delia sighed. "Ash, I wasn't upset last night. I told you that."

"Well, you haven't said 'boo' all night!" he replied nervously. "Are you sick, or something? I want to know, I'm worried!"

Ash stared at his mother and she stared back, her eyes flipping up nervously to Jay. Misty and Brock's eyes followed hers to Jay's, who just took a deep breath and started to mess around with his food with his fork. This made Misty and Brock immediately turn to each other, and they exchanged a confused look.

Silence had dominated the table all of a sudden, but Ash still stared at Delia, waiting for her reply. He was tensing every second that she wasn't saying anything. Finally, she looked at him with a comforting smile, which did nothing for Ash, but it was a legitimate try.

"Thanks for worrying about me, sweetie," she said, stroking his hair affectionately. "But you don't have to. Nothing's wrong. I'm tired. I didn't get much sleep last night."

Ash relaxed for a moment as his mom massaged him more.

"I'm very tense lately. I—I've had to work a lot this week. It's Friday tomorrow, so I'll be good and awake on Saturday, you'll see."

Ash still didn't say anything, but relief was sweeping through Delia's body as she could feel him slowly reclining. Once again, she looked up at Jay, who shrugged casually with his eyes. As much as she hated keeping it from Ash, she couldn't bear to hurt him now. Not like this, not after seeing the sheer ecstasy he had elapsed into since the moment he entered the house. She couldn't even believe he was home, and she felt like kicking herself, figuring it was her emotions that probably had played a major part in it. Why did he have to call her then? Why then? She shut her thoughts up, knowing that Ash's call was for good intentions and nothing else, the simple desire to wish her a happy birthday.

Delia pulled her hand away from Ash, and stood up. She began to collect the dishes, but Ash jumped up suddenly and insisted that he do it. With a pleasant smile, she allowed him to. Misty and Brock immediately got up to help, but Jay told them to sit and relax, saying they were guests. Misty and Brock didn't protest, and slowly lowered themselves back into their seats with polite smiles.

Ash and Jay had the table cleared in a moment, just as the clock in the living room chimed a prolonged nine chimes. The sound seemed to seal the evening's end, and sleepiness struck the kids in an instant. They hadn't realized how late it had become, no one had in fact, and it was evident that the time to turn in had come upon them.

Placing the last plate in the dishwasher, Ash turned to Delia. She thanked him happily and pulled him in for a hug, rocking him back and forth. Ash giggled, and she kissed him, telling him that it was time for bed.

"Believe me, Mom, I'm _already _in bed," Ash said with a grin. "We just traveled here from New Bark Town in one day."

Delia shook her head. "I don't understand you sometimes. You did that for me?"

"Sure," he replied honestly. "I was worried about you."

"Well, that's all settled now, right?" his mom asked, smiling warmly down at him. "Are _you_ okay?"

Ash nodded, followed by a yawn. Delia chuckled silently, and rubbed his messy hair. "Go to bed," she said, and Ash reached up to kiss her goodnight.

"Good-night," he said as he turned with Brock and Misty towards the stairs.

"Good-night, Mrs. Ketchum," Brock and Misty told her separately, after which she returned.

As they walked into the living room, Jay stood leaning on the frame of the door as they had first seen him a few hours before. He nodded a good night to Brock and Misty as they past, then scooped Ash up in his arms, who had trailed the group.

"G'night, you," he said tenderly but crazily, raising Ash above his head again. "Sleep good, ya hear me?"

Ash laughed. "Sure, sure, Dad! Put me down!"

Jay planted Ash on the ground, and kissed the top of his head. He reached down and rubbed Pikachu's head, as well, and the Pokémon scampered up the stairs behind his human pals. Jay watched as the kids sauntered sleepily up the stairs, and looked back at Delia, who had started the dishes.

"He's got some nice friends there," he said, and she nodded with a smile.

Upstairs, Ash, Misty, and Brock had taken turns changing into pajamas in the other room. Ash had actually changed in his room while Misty and Brock were taking turns, and had pulled out the new roll-away beds that Delia had bought especially for Misty and Brock since they had come around so often.

Ash offered Misty his bed when she came in, and she told him it was all right, but he insisted she take it anyway, since she had slept in it nearly every night she had spent there. Finally, Misty accepted the offer, and hesitated none in climbing into Ash's cool sheets, Togepi cuddled softly in her arms.

Brock and Ash rustled around in their beds, finding the most comfortable positions. For Brock and Misty, it was no struggle to find sleep; it came instantly to them as their heads hit the pillows.

For Ash, it was different. His eyes were wide open, and he stared contentedly at his ceiling, Pikachu roaming around at the end of his bed to find a warm spot to crash. Although he knew physically he was tired, he could not seem to get the feeling of sleep in his body. He wanted to go down and talk with his dad more. It urged at him relentlessly, but he calmly refused himself, promising himself the weekend, in which his dad had announced he would spend with Ash.

After about fifteen minutes, however, Ash's eyes began to droop sleepily, and he allowed himself to drift off into slumber. It felt utterly fantastic, and the silence of the room except for the steady breathing of his friends eased his stimulated nerves.

Suddenly, Ash's eyes shot open again. For a moment, he didn't know what had woken him, or even how long he had been asleep. He froze, and sure enough, very distinctly, but very muffled, he could hear the voices of his parents downstairs.

_Damn, they're being pretty loud_, he observed, lifting himself up slightly in his bed. He listened carefully to see if the talking had ceased, but he trembled softly when he heard that they had not died down, they had gotten louder. First, it was his mother's voice, followed shortly by his father's, then back to his mother's again. Ash realized just then that they were talking way too loud to just be _talking_, and the fear settled in him unwillingly when he concluded that they were fighting.

Almost instinctively, Ash swung his legs out of bed, careful not to awake Pikachu. He swallowed hard and his heart raced as he tiptoed his way through the dark upstairs hallway. The voices of his obviously arguing parents grew louder and louder, until Ash could hear perfectly all they were saying.

"This is ridiculous, though, Delia!" his father shouted, trying his best not to raise his voice any higher.

"Oh, really?" Delia demanded angrily. "Do _you_ have a better way of handling this? Huh? Do you?"

Ash inched his way slowly down the stairs, careful not to make one board creak. He stopped where the stairs became visible from the living room, and knelt down. Pressing his hands against the wall to support himself, Ash braced as he listened in to his parents' quarreling.

A short silence came about, and Jay's voice broke it.

"We're going to have to tell Ash sometime," he said.

Ash tensed, his heart beginning to race suddenly. His eyes widened nervously at the mention of his name.

"I know," Delia replied sadly, sounding like she didn't want to accept whatever _it _was.

"Well, when's it gonna be? For God's sake, he has to know sometime!" Jay spat out. "Didn't you ever mention anything to him about us getting divorced?"

That hit the bullseye dead on. At the sound of that word, the word Ash had tried to forget existed, his heart stopped. He quivered violently, a small gasp finding its way up his throat.

_No, please no_, Ash begged to himself. _I'm not hearing this, I'm not hearing_ _this..._

"Jacey, I could _never_," Delia replied, feeling a little choked up herself. "I didn't want to scare Ash. He has enough stuff to worry about right now as it is, you know that!"

Slowly but surely, Ash's eyes welled up in tears. He sniffed in, shutting his eyes tightly to stop the new tears from coming. They couldn't be talking about this; they couldn't be discussing what he only ever heard them discussing in his nightmares.

"Well, you'd better tell him soon," his father went on, his yelling finally fading to a mere whisper. "I can't go on pretending that I just came for a visit…"

At that, Ash could take no more. As silently as he could, he rushed to his room and closed his door. Taking refuge in his warm sheets, he clenched his eyes closed tightly, hoping sleep would come faster to end what he thought had been a good day.

TO BE CONTINUED . . .

Whoa! I just wrote this whole part in a sitting! God, I need a life! hehehe Anyway, I'm finally getting to the juicy stuff in my story, and I hope the length isn't that annoying. The other parts won't be as long I hope, 'cause, ya know, I like to keep your attention and all. All I know is is that I'm getting really excited writing this, and I hope you're enjoying it. Please review!


	5. Confrontation

**Stars Fell on Pallet Town**

by Spruceton Spook

Part 5

Confrontation

Ash woke up the next morning after a long, dreamless night. Sunlight glared in through the window, temporarily blinding him until he turned his head away. For a moment, no thoughts were going through his mind, other than the obvious that he was sleepy as hell. He glanced casually at his clock, which informed him promptly that it was just eight in the morning.

With a small groan, Ash cuddled himself into his covers, closed his eyes, and allowed his sleepiness to take over him. However, it lasted but a mere second, when suddenly the remembrance of what had happened the night before came to him. His eyes weakly opened, and his heart sank. An intense sense of depression swept through his body, and at once he didn't feel so tired anymore.

Ash sat up in bed, and rubbed his eyes of their sleepiness. His neck ached faintly, but he didn't mind. He looked sadly out his window, noticing that it was going to be a bright, warm Friday. His eyes then darted from Brock to Misty, whose eyes were shut peacefully, their good-night's sleep not ended as of yet.

For about a few minutes, Ash just sat in bed, staring dully off into space, letting time tick by. He wanted to go downstairs, but found that he couldn't get himself out of bed. Hunger settled in him and he had to go to the bathroom badly, but his legs didn't budge, his reluctant attitude gluing him down.

Finally with a small sigh and a shot of determination, Ash lifted his sheets and got out of bed. He figured he'd might as well, considering he was up and boarding himself in his room in his sadness would just make matters worse both for him and his mom.

Ash shuffled weakly down the stairs, attended to his bathroom calling first. The house was quiet, and Ash wondered if he was the first one up. After going to the bathroom, however, he discovered that the kitchen light was on. He found his mom sitting at the table in her bathrobe, the newspaper lifted to her face. Jay was nowhere around, and Ash figured that he must had gone to work.

Ash walked slowly into the kitchen, his eyes transfixed to the ground as he paced nearly aimlessly to the refrigerator. He didn't want to ignore his mom, but as much as he fought it, he couldn't bring himself to look at or talk to her. Playing with his mind like that—where did she get off hiding secrets from him? Not to mention important things such as…as…

He couldn't even bear to think of it. Since he was young, he knew what divorce was, and that, to him, it was a horrible thing. But he never worried about it; his parents were happy and always would be. But then _it _occurred, and suddenly it became a reality to him. It was more of a reality now, and his mom couldn't even let him know…?!

Delia smiled warmly as Ash entered the kitchen. "Ash! You're up early!"

Ash nodded apathetically, making his way to the fridge with a dead-set frown on his face. He opened the door and pulled the orange juice out.

"What do you want for breakfast?" Delia went on kindly, setting the newspaper down.

His back turned to her, Ash shrugged, anger starting to inch its way into his blood. Here she was, acting as if nothing in the world was happening, that every thing was just okey-dokey. Ash shuddered as he poured the juice into a glass.

Delia looked calmly at him. "What's the matter? Still tired? Go back to bed if you are."

"I'm not tired," Ash muttered coldly, putting the juice away and finding a seat at the table. He had not once allowed his eyes to meet his mother's, not noticing that her face was lightly scrunching in concern.

"Do you want pancakes?" she asked, taking notice to Ash's strange mood. "I got the mix that you like this time."

Ash didn't reply; instead he took a long gulp of his juice and rested his head in his hand.

"Hmmm?" Delia continued, tapping the table lightly to get his attention. "You want something?"

_Yeah, I want something_, Ash thought angrily to himself, not acknowledging his mom's signals. _Tell me._ _Come on, we're alone. No one's here. Perfect time. Tell me now._

Nothing came from her, though. Delia got up and sat in the seat beside Ash's. He had seated himself across the table from her, when he usually plopped down right next to her. Smiling pleasantly, she reached up and ran her hand through his knotty hair. As she did this, Ash strained but allowed it, his anger building within him.

_Don't_ touch_ me_, he warned her in his mind, keeping his eyes away from her. Reaching across the table, he grabbed the comics section of the newspaper, and fixed his eyes on it. Delia's hand lost his hair as he did this, but as soon as he returned to his upright position, it went through his hair again. This time, though, Ash jerked his head away, abandoning his mother's delicate hand.

The sudden jerk shocked Delia, and she drew her hand away. She leaned over to look into Ash's eyes, hoping they would meet hers, but he brought them to the top of the paper and away from hers.

"Sweetheart, what's the matter?" Delia asked him in a concerned tone.

Ash couldn't take it anymore. He huffed angrily, fighting back the tears that swept to his eyes instantly, and he turned to Delia. Their gazes met for the first time that morning, and Delia drew back as soon as Ash's fury-stricken eyes met her concerned ones.

"Why won't you tell me?!" Ash belted out angrily, causing Delia's heart to leap as well as herself. She jumped out of the chair and stared down at Ash.

"What?" she asked confusingly, bringing her hand up to her pumping heart.

"You know what I'm talking about!" Ash answered, slamming his first down on the table. Tears were welling in his eyes.

Delia shrugged fearfully. "Ash, no… Please tell me what you're talking about! What won't I tell—?"

"About Dad!" Ash screamed, his throat stinging. "You think I'm that stupid? That I wouldn't find out eventually?!"

All of sudden, Delia's heart fell as she realized what he was talking about. She gazed downheartedly at Ash, whose tears continued to build and pool. He frowned at her angrily, his eyes demanding an immediate answer.

"Ash, did you hear—?" she began to ask.

Ash breathed deeply. "Of course I heard! I'm not freakin' deaf!"

Delia looked sadly at him, disappointment rising in her. "I'm sorry you had to find out like that. Ash, I was going to tell you, I was—"

"Then why didn't you?!" Ash bellowed, causing his mother's ears to ring. His speech was becoming muffled as it combined with sobs. He bolted up and looked venomously at Delia.

"Ash, I didn't think you were ready to handle such news," she explained pleadingly, trying her best to calm her raging son down. "I didn't want to hurt you."

"Bullshit!" Ash bawled. "You hurt me plenty!"

"Hey! WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE!" she shouted angrily. "There's no need for that!"

Ash shook his head lividly. "Oh, there's plenty of need for it! What's wrong with you? What other things are you keeping from me?"

"I'm not keeping anything from you!" Delia replied in defense. "I was going to tell you about your father and me. You know I was! How could I keep something like that from you for long?!"

"Well, you sure took your precious time!" Ash spat. "But no, I had to find out with you two screaming your damn heads off last night about it!"

"_That_ was an accident," Delia said, folding her arms in front of her. "Ash, please. You're getting too worked up over this!"

Ash gasped. "I'm not allowed to get upset that my parents are _divorcing_?!"

Delia sighed. "Of course you are, but I wanted to wait until you were ready to know. You were so happy last night being with your father that I just couldn't tell you then."

Tears had been leaking from Ash's eyes for a while now, but it was only then that he began to cry. He choked his sobs up, and covered his face with his hands. Delia rushed to his side, her arms extended to pull him into a hug. Ash whacked her hands away and ran from her, heading for the stairs.

"Ash!" Delia called, taking off after him.

Ash's sobs ceased as he ran up the stairs, his eyes stinging from his crying. Half-way up, he almost collided with Misty and Brock, who were startled to see him racing past them.

"Ash?" Misty asked worriedly.

"Ash? Hold up!" Brock shouted, as Ash pushed his way through them.

Brock and Misty stood confused, and got ready to go after him.

"Ash!" Delia shouted, and Brock and Misty's attention turned to her as she hopped up the stairs by twos.

"Excuse me, guys," she said softly but nervously, as she pushed past them as Ash had done, tripping on the last step in her attempt to catch Ash.

Brock had no clue what was happening, but decided that intruding would be incredibly rude, so they nervously made their way to the kitchen.

Ash bolted into his room and slammed the door immediately behind him. Leaning all his weight on it, he turned the lock as quickly as he could. Flipping around, he leaned his back against the door, burying his face in his hands again.

"Pika pi?" Pikachu asked, his eyes flooding with worry.

Ash looked up to see that he had awoken Pikachu, who was now staring at him in near shock.

"It's okay, Pikachu," Ash assured him. "Go back to bed, okay?"

"Chu!" Pikachu refused, rushing to Ash.

Delia reached Ash's shut door and attempted to open it. Finding it locked, she proceeded to knock loudly on it.

"Ash! Open the door!"

"No!" Ash shouted back. "Go away!"

Delia sighed sadly. "Please let me in, Ash. Let's talk about it."

"_No!_ I don't want to talk to you!" Ash hollered, sobs breaking through his voice again. "Leave me alone! Go away!"

Delia was ready to reply, but she held back, glancing dismally at the floor. It was no use, anyway. When Ash got into these moods, it was usually hard to get him out of them. Delia turned away and headed downstairs, knowing that what Ash needed was a good cool-down period. Hopefully, she would talk to him later, to let him know how sorry she really was.

Walking into the kitchen, Misty and Brock looked up at her. She smiled sweetly at them, and went to the cupboard.

"How does pancakes sound?" she asked cheerily, pulling the mix out, acting as if the entire affair had not just occurred.

Brock and Misty looked at each other, exchanging a look of worry.

"Is Ash all right?" Misty asked, her eyebrows rising in questioning.

"Yeah, he looked pretty bummed out," Brock added.

Delia turned to the two kids. "He—he needs to calm down, that's all. He'll be fine."

"What upset him so much?" Misty asked.

Delia put the mix down on the counter and put her head in her hand. There it was again. It wasn't going to leave her, no matter how much she wanted it to. If Ash knew, he would tell Misty and Brock immediately no doubt, so she might as well tell them now and get it over with. Jay would be coming home from his job in Viridian City at five, and a whole fight breaking out then wouldn't be the best way to handle it.

With Brock and Misty giving their undivided attention to her, Delia decided to come out flat with it. "Jay and I are getting a divorce," she said silently, looking almost shamefully at the floor.

Misty and Brock's mouths opened in shock.

Delia continued sadly. "We, uh, have been considering it for a while." She glanced up at their expressions, then looked down at the floor again. "And he's here right now to finalize it. Ash just found out last night."

Misty got up and strode over to Delia, who had rested her head in her hand again. She rubbed her shoulder softly, and looked sadly at Brock, who also got up.

"Are you going to be okay?" Misty asked.

Delia nodded. "Yeah, I will. But I don't know about Ash."

"He's taking it hard, huh?" Brock asked, folding his arms around him.

"I don't blame him though," Delia said, throwing her hand down in frustration. "He found out totally the wrong way. God, why did this have to happen?!"

The news of the divorce startled Misty. She couldn't help but ponder, though. She and Brock had known for some time that Delia and Jay were separated, but had found it out so long ago that they figured that maybe they _were_ divorced. That maybe Ash had just used the word 'separated' to lighten the load of it, so to speak. When he spoke of his parents, which was as rare as seeing Mew stroll across the road in front of them, he spoke so blandly that it was obvious he didn't like talking about it. Misty and Brock never bothered him further, seeing the pain clearly spelt out.

Misty and Brock didn't even have any idea why they _were_ separated, or getting divorced. That was one thing Ash had always kept within him, and something neither or them would have ever dared ask Mrs. Ketchum. Now more than ever, Misty pondered of this baffling situation.

Misty straightened herself and looked reassuringly into Delia's eyes. "I'll go talk to Ash," she said. "Maybe I can get him to feel better."

"Oh, you don't have to do that," Delia answered, unsure of if letting anybody near Ash right now was a good idea. "He just needs to calm down."

Misty smiled. "No, it's all right. I want to make sure he's okay."

Delia was quick to object again, but she drew herself back and nodded the approval. Misty nodded a hopeful okay to her, then headed off upstairs while Brock hung back to help Delia in the kitchen.

Misty calmly made her way up the stairs, being careful not to put Ash in some sort of rage again with the sound of someone coming. It didn't matter much, though, when she reached the door and knocked ever so softly.

"Go away!" Ash bellowed from in his room. "Leave me alone, Mom!"

"No, no Ash, it's me," Misty said quickly but gently. "It's just me."

A pause. "I don't feel like talking," Ash muttered unhappily. "Please leave me be."

Misty sighed. "Please Ash? I'm worried about you."

Silence followed that, and Misty stood looking rather confusedly at the door. She was about to turn away when all of a sudden she heard the sharp click of the lock and the moaning hinges as Ash opened the door slowly.

She almost gasped when she saw him, his face red and irritated-looking. His eyes, which were normally a bright white were clouded over red and bloodshot. The area underneath his nose was also red—in fact, the color seemed to have taken over his whole face. Misty's heart fell when she saw him.

Ash looked down at the floor and turned around, climbing the ladder to his bed. There he plopped down impassively, while Pikachu strode slowly over to him and settled on his lap. Misty made her way slowly and carefully into the room. When Ash finally looked at her again, she gave him a warm, heartfelt smile.

"Are you okay?" she asked sweetly, her mouth drawn into a worried grin.

Ash didn't smile back. "No," he answered simply, running his hand over Pikachu's back tenderly over and over.

Without a second thought, Misty calmly climbed her way onto Ash's bed, and settled down beside him with care. The bed was still unmade, and Misty found Ash clad together in a small mound of the comforter, covering his cold, bare feet. As Misty roosted beside Ash, she instinctively pulled some of the comforter over onto her feet, pounding on it softly to ease the tension of the moment.

Ash remained speechless, his eyes fixed on the relaxed Pokémon in his lap, taking almost no notice of Misty. She glanced worriedly at him.

"Do you want to talk about it, Ash?"

Ash shook his head, and Misty turned away dejectedly. How was she going to get him to talk?

"How could they do this to me, Misty?" Ash voice suddenly came out of nowhere, so light and inaudible, but Misty's head still shot up immediately. She looked at him and noticed that he was still looking down, sniffling a couple times to mark the end of his crying stage.

"They didn't mean to hurt you," Misty said, the first thing coming to her mind. "They love you. You know that."

The two spoke silently, almost in whispers. The only other sound in the room was the tick-tock of Ash's bedside clock and the faint snoring of Togepi on the other end of the bed.

"They don't act like they do," Ash said. "If they did, they would have told me. Why were they keeping this a secret from me? Why?!"

"They were just thinking of what was best for you," Misty replied. She reached up and put her arm around Ash' shoulder. For a second, she felt him flinch, but her arm remained there anyway.

"But that was not what was best for me!" Ash pouted, a single tear flowing from his eye. "I'm so mad at them! Mom especially! She never keeps anything from me! We tell each other everything." He pounded the bed on the other side of him—the side without Misty. "Now I can never trust her again! I hate her."

Misty was overcome with a wave of sadness. "No, you don't, Ash!" she contradicted immediately. "You don't hate her. Unless maybe you have this weird thought in your mind that she hates you, and you're wrong."

Ash looked up into her face.

Misty smiled. "She was going to tell you, Ash. And I don't blame her for waiting. Maybe she wanted to see you have some fun with your dad for a couple days! Did you ever think of that?"

Ash's eyes fell as he shrugged. "I guess," he mumbled.

"She didn't want you to feel like this because…because she _does _love you."

Silent once again, Ash fell into deep thought. Misty wasn't sure quite what it was, but sadness was still radiating from Ash. She inched herself closer to him, and in a second, she pulled him into a hug. Overcome with emotion, Ash accepted the hug and wrapped his arms around her, burying his face into her shoulder. Misty could feel his body vibrating as he began to cry again, and she held him tighter.

"It's okay, Ash," she assured, leaning her head on his as he sobbed onto her pajamas. "Everything's going to be all right."

Misty knew that what she said was true…or had to be. For a moment, the thought of his parents' relationship for the past three years, a vague, vast relationship that seemed to not exist at all, crept back into her mind. She suddenly felt horribly, horribly depressed for them, but most of all, for the poor, crying boy she held in her arms.

TO BE CONTINUED . . .


	6. The Unexpected Encounter

**Stars Fell on Pallet Town**

by Spruceton Spook

Part 6

The Unexpected Encounter

Later on, Delia left the house unhappily, the incident that occurred that morning the only thing on her mind. She had attempted unsuccessfully to see Ash, but that had proven disastrous. Ash didn't even want to look into his mother's face much less talk to her. Despite what Misty had told him earlier, Ash's grudge stuck, and a dejected Delia could do nothing about it. She said good-bye to Ash sweetly anyway, but when she tried to hug him, he had ducked out of her arms.

The house now all to themselves, Misty and Brock graciously and determinedly took on the duty of trying to cheer Ash up. It wasn't going to be easy, they figured, but neither of them could stand to look at Ash's melancholy face.

About a half an hour after Delia left, Misty came bounding down the stairs vivaciously, sporting her newly cleaned clothes and a smile. She skipped the last few steps and jumped to the landing, Togepi squealing partially out of fear and out of excitement. Almost immediately, she caught a glimpse of Ash's spiky black hair poking out from behind the couch.

As she walked quietly over to him, she looked down curiously, finding him slumped over in a depressed fashion. He was dressed now—thanks to Brock who had practically demanded that he got out of his pajamas and stopped moping. His feet, bound up in his filthy sneakers, were propped on top of the coffee table, something Delia would have normally reamed him for. But she wasn't here, making Misty wonder what other rules Ash may had broken deliberately out of anger.

Ash looked up immediately when he felt Misty's presence over him. His eyes met hers, and she instinctually smiled at him.

"Come on, Ash," she said cheerfully. "Let's go do something!"

Ash turned back and slumped even more. "I don't want to do anything. 'Cept die, maybe."

"Oh, stop talking like that!" Misty pleaded. She began to tug on Ash's collar. "Come on, Brock wants to do something. It's a beautiful day outside!"

"I don't care!" Ash muttered loudly, stamping his feet angrily on the table.

Misty huffed. "Ash! I'm not gonna let you rot away like this when it's so nice out! _I know!_ Let's go look for Pokémon! That'll make you feel better."

"I'm not in the mood," Ash answered. "You and Brock go have fun without me."

"Pika pi! Chuuu!" Pikachu said, hopping onto Misty's shoulder upon returning from the kitchen, looking sadly at Ash.

This time Misty sighed sadly. She stared down at Ash, who looked more depressed than she had ever seen him. Not that she blamed him, though; she just felt horrible that Ash was feeling this way.

Brock suddenly came into the room, and folded his arms in front of him. He shook his head and turned to Misty and Pikachu.

"Is he comin', or what?" he asked, and Misty and the Pokémon shook their heads.

Brock stood over Ash, and nudged his legs with his own. "C'mon, Ash. Get your feet off the coffee table and let's go catch some Pokémon. Whaddah ya say?"

"Hmph," Ash replied.

Brock looked up at Misty and they both exchanged a mischievous grin as plans flashed to each other's minds.

"Ash, are we gonna hafta drag you outside?" Misty asked, rubbing Ash's head.

Ash quickly shooed her hand away. "I won't let you."

"I don't know, Ash," Brock said a bit sarcastically. "Me 'n' Misty are pretty strong."

Ash slammed his fists down on the couch irritably. "Geez! Leave me alone, guys!"

Instead, this only encouraged Misty and Brock more, and instantaneously they made grabs for Ash. Ash fought, but a smile couldn't help but come to his face when Misty and Brock dragged him reluctantly to the back door, laughing hysterically. They got Ash outside, and pushed him ahead of them.

"Go get 'em, Ash!" Misty sang. "There's some Pokémon out there with your name on them!"

Ash smiled feebly. "Guys, I'm not in the mood!" he pouted softly.

Brock threw him an empty Pokéball. "_Yes, you are_."

Ash caught the Pokéball in his hands, and smiled weakly. The smooth feel of it seemed to stimulate him on contact, and a sudden rush of enthusiasm to play Pokémon rushed through him. With a wide grin, he looked up at Misty and Brock.

"C'mon, we ain't gonna find any good Pokémon here," he said, causing his two friends to smile in relief. "Let's go."

Ash, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu headed off away from the Ketchum house, but they didn't quite get too far. In the scheme of things, the three trainers decided to let their Pokémon out, and soon the entire backyard was filling with boisterous, rambunctious animals, running around and stretching their cramped-up limbs.

The activity of the Pokémon stirred the kids up, and soon they were jumping around and running with them, laughing zestfully in the pleasure of the moment. The animation seemed to bring Ash out of his depression as well, and Misty and Brock were more than pleased to see a huge smile on Ash's face as he playfully chased Bulbasaur.

Their fun took even a bigger step when Misty decided to make Ash even happier, her attempt to wipe his memory of the whole morning incident. During one of their circles around the yard, Misty purposely ran closely to Ash, catching his shirt. The sudden pull brought Ash to the ground, and Misty immediately leapt onto him. Laughing gushingly, the two wrestled prankishly on the ground, Brock joining in a moment later. Together, he and Misty pushed Ash to the ground, leaving the boy pleading for mercy in between gasps for breath.

As the three frolicked on the grass, they didn't notice that they had had a spectator for most of the time. He stood leaning on the fence, watching them with a grin on his face, never caring really whether or not they would see him.

It was Misty who first had, and she froze from torturing Ash. Brock was next, and he followed her eyes to where she was looking at their visitor.

"Hey, guys? You finally give up?" Ash puffed, his face flushed from laughter. He noticed their stares immediately, and turned to look at the fence. His eyes rose suddenly.

"_Gary_?!" he exclaimed, jumping to his feet.

Gary grinned and shrugged. "Took you long enough. Guess you were too busy with your strenuous Pokémon training, huh?"

Ash grumbled. "What are you doing here?"

Gary scowled. "What? I can't take a break, too? Seeing how I do more work than you, anyway, I should deserve one."

"We didn't even know you were here," Misty replied. "And you shouldn't sneak up on us like that, either. You scared the heck out of me!"

"Sorry," Gary said, although none of them knew it was sincere.

Misty and Brock's bodies suddenly flinched. They knew that Gary's unexpected visit might set Ash off again, and they decided that it was best to get rid of him as soon as possible. Before they could do anything however, Ash stamped his way over to his rival, a glare of resentment displayed on his face.

"Gary, I'm not in the mood for you right now," Ash said calmly, looking Gary straight in the eye. "We're kinda busy."

"Yeah, right," replied Gary, snickering. "You're _real_ busy."

Ash's fists clenched, and Gary smiled at him. He looked over to Ash's house, and sighed, shaking his head.

"So, I see your dad's home," he interjected, folding his arms proudly in front of him, causing Ash's eyes to widen. "What did you do _this_ time?"

Ash's blood rushed. "What are you talking about?" he growled angrily. "How do you know that?!"

"Easy, Ash," Misty warned gently, but Ash seemed to ignore her. _Oh, great!_ she thought.

"Heh, my mom told me," Gary snorted. "Talk's all over town, ya know."

Ash suddenly quivered, and his face fell in nervousness. "W-What?! What talk?"

Gary snickered again. "Oh, please, Ash! Everyone knows what's going on at your place. It's just the latest gossip going around!"

Brock started to tremble in ire, fearing to see the expression on Ash's face. This was definitely something Ash didn't need right now. "Get out of here, Gary," he warned angrily. "I mean it."

Ash was mad as ever, and his forehead was beginning to redden. "Don't you _dare _talk about my parents!" Ash snarled viciously, stepping closer to Gary. "You don't know anything about them!"

Gary backed away a little, but the grin on his face remained. The grin that made Ash, Misty, and Brock sick to their stomachs, but especially Ash, who had suddenly found himself in the fight to keep his emotions restrained. He could feel the wave of sadness and humiliation creeping into him again, and he desperately tried to keep the lump down that was forming in his throat.

"Gee, I wouldn't want to _upset_ you or anything, Ash," Gary replied. "I know you want to keep this a secret and all. They really _do_ pin on the trainers' life stories during those important competitions, and I would _hate_ to see them reveal to the world about your cheating, deadbeat father."

At that, Ash blood boiled to the extreme. His nerves snapped and his heart began to race. He wanted his ears to be deceiving him, but he knew it wasn't true. Suddenly, he leapt at Gary and grabbed his shirt, pulling him closely to his face. Misty and Brock jumped back, startled at both Gary's comment and Ash's sudden lunge.

"Don't you dare talk about my dad that way, you asshole!" Ash spat into Gary's face, who at the moment looked genuinely startled. "He's not a deadbeat and he's not a cheater! You take that back!_ TAKE IT BACK NOW!_"

Gary raised his arms in defense as he stared deep into Ash's seriously disturbed face. He could see angry tears forming in his eyes, but instead of succumbing to his unanticipated guilt, he grinned slyly at Ash.

"Fine, I take it back," he said. "Put me down now."

But that wasn't enough for Ash. "Apologize!" he demanded. "Apologize now, damn you!"

Brock grabbed a hold of Ash's hands tenderly. "Ash, calm down now," he said gently, trying to pry Ash's hands away from Gary. "C'mon, let's go inside."

"No, Brock!" Ash wailed, turning on his friend. His eyes flicked back to Gary and he looked with pure loathing into his face. "No…_no_! Not until…not until this rotten son of a bitch apologizes…to me…"

At that, Ash could take no more. Sobs coughed up from him suddenly, and he released Gary. Gary fell back and watched as Ash turned and ran towards his house. Misty and Brock shot one more detestable glance at Gary.

"I hope you rot for this," Misty snarled, and she and Brock took off after Ash, leaving Gary abandoned at the Ketchum's backyard fence.

TO BE CONTINUED . . .


	7. The Divorce Papers

**Stars Fell on Pallet Town**

by Spruceton Spook

Part 7

The Divorce Papers

Ash didn't even bother to retrieve his Pokémon. The fresh new wave of tears spilled from his eyes rapidly, and he couldn't wait to get into his house. He ran by Pikachu in a blur, who had been resting calmly beside Squirtle. Immediately aware of Ash's restored depression and Misty and Brock running swiftly to catch up with him, Pikachu darted off after Ash, as well.

Blasting through his back door, Ash bolted through the house at full speed, and stopped abruptly in his living room, where he crashed on the couch in a huff. He leaned his head forward and buried it in his hands, furiously wiping away the tears. He breathed in and out heavily, clenching his fingers and toes to stop his raging anger.

"_That's it_!" he mumbled out loud, stamping his feet on the ground. "I will never, _ever_ talk to him ever again! Oh God, I hate him! I hate him, I hate him…"

At that he trailed off, and began to cry again. Not a few seconds later, he could hear the callings of his friends and Pikachu, but he kept his head down and in his hands.

They came in the room huffing and puffing. Brock and Misty instantly sat down on the couch next to Ash on either side, and did their best to comfort him. For a moment neither of them uttered a word, as Brock rubbed Ash's back softly and Misty rubbed his leg, both looking at him with deep and utter concern.

"Ash," Misty said gently and affectionately, moving her hand up from his leg to his arm. "Are you gonna be okay?"

Ash shook his head, which still remained in his hands. Looking at him wallow depressively, Misty's sudden urge to cry overcame her, and tears began to drip from her eyes. At that second, she felt so horrible for Ash that she didn't know what to do except cry.

_Poor, poor Ash_, Misty thought as she wrapped her arms around him and buried her head on Ash's shoulder to hide the tears from Brock, who sat in silence recalling the incredulous event that had just taken place.

Ash felt Misty's hug, and he raised his head slowly to look at her. When Misty felt him move, she lifted her head, also, and their wet, red eyes met. Seeing his grievous face, Misty seriously felt like murdering Gary, hurt him for doing this to Ash.

Ash, on the other hand, was shocked, and he stared profoundly at Misty. "Misty?" he asked, his eyes wincing in tears.

"Yeah?" Misty replied.

"Why—why are you crying?"

Misty's heart melted when he said this, and this only made her tears spill more easily. Without any reluctance, she reached up and wiped the new tears off Ash's sticky cheeks, smiling meekly as she did it.

"Because I feel so bad for you, Ash," she answered finally, sniffling.

"Why is this happening to me? What did I do to deserve this?" He broke down again, and Misty gripped him in a tight hug. Ash hugged back, squeezing his arms forcefully around her waist.

"You didn't do anything, Ash," Misty cried, rocking him softly.

"None of this is your fault," Brock said, fighting his eyes from watering. He looked down sadly at the floor. "It'll be all right, though. I know."

"We'll get you through this, Ash," Misty promised, smiling hopefully to Brock. "We're here for you. Just remember that."

Ash pulled back mildly from the hug, and wiped his eyes. He sat for a moment looking across the room, and Misty and Brock stared at him attentively and worriedly, wondering what he was going to say or do.

Suddenly, he looked at them, and a small, reassuring smile came to his lips. "Thanks, you guys," he said, and they smiled back happily at him. "I—I have to pull myself together, I know. I can't get upset over what _Gary _said, anyway."

"We don't ever have to associate with him again, Ash," Brock said.   
"He doesn't deserve to even be acknowledged."

Ash got up and paused, looking around. "Believe me, I don't plan on it. C'mon. Let's get the Pokémon in," he said quietly, and the three headed outside to retrieve them.

Ash still couldn't handle what was happening. The whole rest of the day seemed to speed by for him. After they had recalled their Pokémon, Brock had made a big lunch for them of hamburgers, which Ash didn't have an appetite for, but ate, anyway. He didn't even taste the food as it went down, and remained silent while Misty and Brock chatted softly, various times trying to get Ash to talk, too. But all he could do was think of how everything had suddenly taken a horrible turn in only the course of but a few hours, and he felt sick over it.

He still didn't want to believe it, either. He wanted it to be a dream, but when he reminded himself over and over again that it wasn't, it depressed him more. After lunch, he told Misty and Brock that he wanted to take a nap for a while, and they graciously allowed him. Ash figured sleep would get the day over faster, hoping that maybe everything would go away. Ash let Pikachu accompany him, and together they napped well into the evening. The sleep came easily to Ash, and he found new comfort in it.

Ash didn't realize how long he had slept, but when he awoke, he heard his mom's voice downstairs, and he scowled. He was awake now, and dinner would be soon, and he would have to come down. He still didn't feel like seeing her. Even though she had apologized several times, it didn't seem to satisfy him. As he lay awake in bed, he listened to the faint voices coming from downstairs, and the more Ash heard Delia's voice, the more he wanted to go down to her. Despite how mad at her he was and hated to admit it, he wanted to make good with her, and it urged him.

"Pikachu, come on," Ash said, rubbing Pikachu's fur. The Pokémon looked up sleepily at him. "Let's go down now."

The two made their way slowly down the steps, and Ash stopped dead in his tracks when he heard Jay's voice in the kitchen. Ash moaned to himself, wondering whether or not he could stand to see his two parents together. He wondered if Jay was aware that he knew, but at that point he no longer cared; he was hungry, and was sick and tired of running from the situation.

As he made his way to the kitchen, he decided that he didn't want to talk to either one of them, but it would be hard. His dad especially; earlier on, Ash had had a mile-long list of things to talk to him about. Last night's dinner wasn't enough, and Ash had been looking forward to spending that night with Jay.

"Hey, Ash!" Misty said cheerfully as he entered. "You're up!"

Ash smiled a little as he examined the scene. His mom was standing by the stove, his dad right beside her, leaning on the counter. Misty and Brock were seated comfortably at the table.

Misty had been the first to notice Ash, but as soon as she announced his presence, the whole room turned to him.

"Hey, Ash!" Jay shouted with a grin, shuffling himself on his feet. "Sleep good, buddy?"

Ash nodded drowsily, and sauntered over to the table.

Despite the incident that morning, Delia smiled warmly at Ash. "Hi, sweetie," she said. "You up for some steak tonight?"

Ash plopped down into his chair and looked at Delia incoherently. "Sure," he replied, then turned to Misty and Brock.

That was not the answer Delia had been hoping for. Usually, Ash jumped for joy at the sound of steak, and his apathetic reaction had just confirmed that he was still upset with her. She looked back at the stove, and sighed sadly. Jay noticed this and nudged her, smiling reassuringly at her. She made a slight, saddened smile in return. But that wasn't enough.

At least Jay understood now. When he had returned from work in Viridian City, she had just arrived home, as well. He'd noticed how down she was, and when she told him that Ash had heard them last night, his face fell. She recalled her fight with Ash that morning, and how troubled he was. Jay told her to not worry, but that didn't convince Delia much. She wouldn't be satisfied until she could talk to her son again, had him smile sincerely and lovingly back at her.

Feeling the tension between Ash and Delia, Jay tried to lighten the mood, and walked over briskly to the three kids and plopped down in the seat beside Ash. Ash didn't look at him, and concentrated his attention on his hands on the table.

"Misty and Brock were telling me that you had your Pokémon out before," Jay said. "How are they all? Good, I hope."

"They're okay," Ash dully replied, tapping his fingers rhythmically on the table.

Jay nodded. "Well, good."

Brock perked up suddenly, sensing the cold shoulder that Ash was calmly displaying towards his parents. He and Misty had expected this somewhat, and they decided to try to make it better as best as they could. While talking with his parents before Ash had come down, neither he nor Misty had mentioned anything of Gary, and just that they'd had a fun afternoon romping with the Pokémon. They saw Delia's face light up when they were recounting the fun they had, knowing she felt better to know that Ash hadn't locked himself in his room all day.

"Hey, guess what, Ash!" Brock chimed. "Your dad said that tomorrow he'll show us all his Pokémon!"

"Isn't that great?" Misty added.

Ash shrugged. "I guess so."

"Don't you want to know what he's got?" Misty asked, realizing that not even the subject of Pokémon was lightening Ash's mood.

"I know what he's got," Ash replied somewhat coldly.

He did know, technically, but the only ones that came to his mind were the ones Jay had had when Ash was eight and younger, and even then they were mostly just pets. Jay had battled Pokémon since he was young, but stopped doing it shortly after Ash was born and when he became serious with his job. Even though he didn't battle as much, he kept the Pokémon, the first ones Ash was introduced to in his life. He didn't have that many; he was more into battling than capturing, and all but one of his Pokémon, a Nidoran, was given to him.

"Well, you know, I might have gotten more," Jay said with a mysterious grin on his face. "It's been a while."

"Yes, it certainly has," Ash responded immediately and forcefully, causing Delia's head to rise.

Jay took a deep and thoughtful breath. "You know what I would like, Ash? I want to have a battle with you tomorrow. Wouldn't that be fun?" He nudged Ash's shoulder playfully, but Ash looked into his face downheartedly.

"Maybe some other time," he replied.

"Ash!" Misty said, surprised. "C'mon! Snap out of this!"

Jay held her hand up to her. "It's okay, Misty," he said calmly, then turned back to Ash. "If he doesn't want to battle me, that's okay. And if he doesn't want to see my Feraligatr, that's okay, too."

At the sound of the evolved Pokémon, Ash's ears twitched. He craved to see what a Totodile eventually became, but he fought his urge to get excited. He had to fight it; he wasn't going to succumb to his dad's reverse psychology. Ash was mad at them, after all…wasn't he?

Brock's eyes widened. "You got a Feraligatr?" he cried excitedly. "Cool! Hey Ash, ya hear that?"

"I heard it fine," Ash replied. He suddenly looked up at all of them. "Look, I'm just not in the mood to talk Pokémon right now, okay? I told you, maybe later."

"But Ash, you're_ never_ not in the mood!" Misty objected. "Come on, cheer up, will ya?"

Absolute quiet followed that, and Jay stared sadly at his son. Although he knew why Ash was upset and why he was trying his best to ignore him, he couldn't stand for it. He looked back at Delia, who had watched the whole scene in silence, and she frowned.

"Supper's ready," she mumbled despondently, and Jay, Misty, and Brock got up to set the table.

Though he didn't want to do it, Ash got up and helped them set the table. He didn't feel like getting scolded by his mom for not being useful—he had enough to sulk about. She probably wouldn't have bothered, but Ash also felt that it wasn't fair to make Misty and Brock do all the work. He wasn't mad at _them_, after all.

Ash kept the hostile cold shoulder throughout the whole dinner; the only time he talked or smiled was when he was addressed to by Misty or Brock. His parents eventually gave up trying to talk to him, and he didn't even move a muscle when Delia revealed that she had made a cheesecake for desert, which on normal circumstances Ash would have drooled over.

Ash was more than relieved that the dinner was over—and so did everyone else, it seemed. As soon as the dishes were cleared, Ash took off for upstairs, his friends following close behind. Although Misty and Brock tried to make Ash more talkative during dinner, their moods immediately changed when they were separated from Jay and Delia.

"Ash, how long are you going to keep this up?" Misty groaned, giving him a frustrated look.

Ash shrugged. He really didn't know himself, but he decided to act like he did for the time being. Being in a depressed mood for the day had bothered him, and even though he didn't show it, he wanted to do something fun. Now that the uncomfortably awkward dinner had come to an end, he wanted nothing more than to have fun with Misty and Brock like he'd had that afternoon.

Relaxing in Ash's room was something they all needed. It seemed that as soon as Ash entered the room, he became a whole new person. Suddenly, he perked up a little, turned his music on, and started chatting with Misty and Brock about nothing in particular. After some funny incidences, the three found themselves playing a rather peculiar game involving a Hawaiian lei and Ash's ceiling fan. Misty had just discovered the lei stuffed in Ash's closet, and when tossing up at the fan, Brock unintentionally caught it around his neck, hence starting a game that occupied them for over an hour.

A half-hour later, laughing hysterically, Misty fell to the floor with the lei around her neck. "Finally!" she screamed in victory. By this time, the lei was practically in tatters from being thrown onto the fan too much, but Misty had caught it for the first time. She got up and pulled the lei off, fanning herself.

"Ash, it's _so hot_ in here!" she exclaimed, tossing the lei at him. Ash batted it away, sending into the corner in a heap.

"Well, what else do you expect me to do?" he laughed. "Both the windows are already open!"

"Go get some drinks for us," Brock suggested, going over to the radio and changing the song.

"Why don't you get them?" Ash huffed, putting his hands on his hips.

"Because we're the guests!" Misty giggled, leaning against the open window.

Ash sighed, and headed out the door and down the stairs. He was still smiling from the excitement as his feet touched the landing in a thud. Almost in an instant, he noticed his parents sitting at the table, a small stack of papers scattered in front of them, and he tensed.

_Uh-oh…_ _Why did I come down here? What was I thinking?!_

Reluctantly, he made his way quietly to the kitchen, and Jay and Delia's heads rose. Ash gave them a small, timid wave and walked to the fridge, where he pulled out a bottle of soda, soon followed by three large cups.

"Sounds like you're having fun up there," Jay remarked.

"Yeah, we are," Ash replied, shuffling the soda and cups in his hands. "Getting a little hot, though."

Delia smiled gently at him. "Just don't spill any on the rug, okay?"

"Sure thing, Mom," Ash assured, and turned to go upstairs. Suddenly he froze, and looked back at his parents. They had returned to whatever they had been doing, and Ash's eyebrows rose in curiosity. He tried his best to listen to what they were saying, but they were whispering quite softly and their eyes were glued conscientiously to the papers in front of them. Ash mentally shrugged it off and continued his trip upstairs, although deep down he felt a bad vibe from it.

Misty and Brock eagerly quaffed down the sweet liquid, as did Ash, displaying his smile happily, though the thought of his parents seeped into his mind again. What were they doing down there, anyway?

By ten, they all seemed exhausted, and it was Brock who admitted first that he wanted to hit the sack. Though all hyper and sugared-up from the soda, Ash and Misty agreed that it had been a long day.

Ash never went down to say good-night to his parents. He didn't feel like it, and the only time he left his room after that was to change in the bathroom. When he returned, Misty was already in her pajamas.

"Want my bed again?" Ash offered, gesturing towards it.

Misty smiled and shrugged. "Well, Togepi's already asleep in it…"

Ash waved it away with a smile. "Go to sleep, Misty." He plopped onto the rollaway.

Misty smiled gently and climbed into his bed, pulling the covers up to her chin and snuggling in. She wanted to say good-night to Jay and Delia, but she figured that if Ash wasn't going to do it, it didn't matter. Sometimes Delia came up to say good-night, but she never did that night. The tension between her and Ash appeared to scare her away.

After about an hour of giggling and saying good-night numerous times, the three kids drifted off into sleep. For a good while now Ash had felt happy, and sleep came easily. He dreamt pleasantly for as long as he was sleeping, until he awakened a few hours later. Despite all the soda he had engulfed hours ago, his throat was slightly parched and he craved some water.

At first, Ash tried to ignore it. His eyes drooped sleepily, and he was too tired to even move his legs. But his dry throat tormented him, and he finally got up to quench the sudden thirst that had befallen him. It was near midnight, and the quietness of the house allowed Ash to make the obvious assumption that everyone was asleep. He drudged on tiredly down the stairs, holding on tightly to the banisters as he made his way through the darkness, the small night lights at the top and bottom of the stairs lighting his way.

Upon reaching the bottom, his eyes caught sight of a large lump on the couch, and as soon as his eyes adjusted to the pitch blackness, he realized that it was his sleeping father. The sight suddenly made Ash brace, bringing back unwanted memories of what it had been like before Jay had left. Delia had practically placed barbed-wire outside their bedroom, and Jay had been confined to the couch for quite a while.

Looking away and feeling it was the best thing to do, Ash made his way into the kitchen. He flipped on the light above the sink, illuminating the room enough for him to get his drink but not to wake his dad. Ash seated himself at the table after pouring his drink, and rested his head drowsily in his hands. Not a second later did he notice the small, neat pile of papers that lay directly in front of him. His curiosity sparking again, Ash reached out and grabbed the papers.

The dim light was making it hard to read it, so he brought the papers over to the sink, where he began to scrutinize them. Immediately, something told him that these were what his parents were going over, and the information on the top page correctly affirmed that. He clutched them tightly in disbelief as he read paragraph after paragraph of divorce testimonies, his parents' signatures dotted in various sections.

At each new paragraph, Ash clenched his teeth harder, shooting pain throughout his jaw. His breathing increased heavily. No, not this. This is not what he needed to see right now. How come it just wouldn't _leave him alone_?

Anger built up within him steadily, and the papers began to crumple softly in his clamped, sweaty fists. What he saw before him disgusted him, almost like it was an illusion, a trick to his eyes. Here was the whole base of his problems, and he was grasping it in his hands. He felt in-control suddenly, but it didn't manage his anger. Something within him snapped, and with a single huff of wrath and frustration, Ash gripped the papers in his hands tightly and pulled in two different directions, tearing the divorce papers in two, clean shreds.

TO BE CONTINUED . . .

Hey, SaltNPepper, this one's for you guys! Remember that night? It was the best ever! Say, Christine, didja ever get a new lei?


	8. Double Realization

**Stars Fell on Pallet Town**

by Spruceton Spook

Part 8

Double Realization

Ash had fallen asleep immediately upon returning to his bed, feeling as if a tremendous weight had suddenly been lifted. He did not dream after that, and the next thing he knew, it was morning. It was actually Brock who had woken him up, and when he turned his head groggily to him, Brock announced that he felt like taking an early morning shower. As he left the room, Ash groaned and looked out the window.

It was Saturday. Thinking off it made Ash turn his head away grimly from his window, dreading the fact that both his parents were going to be home that day. And to think, two days before he had been eagerly anticipating it. Bah.

Suddenly, he reconsidered, clearing his mind as his attention directed itself towards Jay. Picturing him in his mind now, Ash couldn't fight the fact that he wanted to be with his dad, and take on the challenge his father had given him the night before. Ever since Ash had fallen in love with Pokémon, he wanted to battle his dad, the one he felt responsible for introducing him to the creatures. How could he pass that up? How could he have acted that way last night?

Disgusted with himself suddenly, he pulled himself out of the bed. He glanced up at Misty, who was still sleeping peacefully, her hand drooped over the side of the bed. Knowing she would wake up with a numbing, tingly arm, Ash walked over and placed her arm back onto the bed beside her. Smiling at his good deed, Ash turned and left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

The urge to see Jay took a sudden leap, and Ash couldn't believe how he had just ignored him yesterday. He must not have been in his right mind, and he knew that. The good-night's sleep settled in him pleasantly, and he figured that that was just what he needed. His spirits lifted and his nerves calmed, he stepped zealously downstairs. Although he wasn't smiling, he felt reasonably content.

Jay wasn't on the couch. Ash's heart sank when he noticed this, but it wasn't really that early; Jay could be anywhere. Knowing that Jay was definitely going to be around that day, he shrugged it off and didn't worry. First thing was first, he was going to have a big breakfast. If he was going to battle today, he needed strength. But best of all, he was going to battle his dad. Today was going to be good after all. One of his desires was going to be fulfilled, and he walked happily and aimlessly towards the kitchen.

"Oh my God!"

Suddenly, the silent voice of Delia floated from the kitchen, and Ash froze dead in his tracks, his eyes widening nervously. He stopped abruptly in the entranceway of the kitchen, his eyes fixated on the back of his mother. All his breath suddenly escaped his lungs as the recollection of last night seeped into his memory, realizing that in the spur of the moment, after he had viciously ripped the divorce papers in half, he had carelessly dropped them into the sink, where they had abided for the remainder of the night. But now, to Ash's horror, they were in the hands of his agnostic mom, who held them out in front of her.

_Oh, God…_ Ash moaned to himself as he found himself slowly walking backwards. _No, oh crap! I forgot!_

For a moment, Ash wanted to sink into the floor. He wanted to run, he wanted to escape, but his feet felt as if they were glued to the floor. He stared with terror filled eyes at his mom, who seemed to be in a state of utter disbelief as she held the dearly important contracts in her hands, now just a horde of shreds.

Ash gulped loudly, though he didn't realize just how loudly till Delia spun around in her tracks, facing Ash with both fists full of the papers. As soon as their eyes met, Ash's heart stopped. His mother's eyes narrowed at him, flickering in anger, her teeth clenched into an awful frown.

"_Ashton!_" she said sternly, making Ash's stomach flip-flop sickly. Delia's mouth started to move, but nothing came out. She was at a loss for words, but Ash knew exactly what was on her mind. And it frightened him.

Finally, the words that she couldn't seem to find blurted out. "What's _this_?" She thrust the shreds out in front of her, clearly enough for Ash to see.

Panic taking over him, Ash stuttered over his thoughts and his words. "Um, they-they're, uhhh..."

Delia glared at him, sensing his sudden intentional ignorance. Ash knew that she knew he was the culprit; it was certain, but he couldn't bring himself to admit to it yet. He stood there sheepishly, his mother's eyes wearing him down. She always did this when she knew Ash was keeping something, knowing that sooner or later he would crack.

Ash tried his hardest, but as his eyes switched from Delia's face to the papers, back and forth, he suddenly became nauseous. It was no use, anyway, and his mother's stare became more rigid.

"Ash!" she grumbled impatiently, still holding the papers out in front of her. Ash jumped. "Explain this, _now_!"

Ash panicked. He was caught, and instantly the apologies came pouring from his mouth. "I'm so, so sorry, Mom! I swear I didn't mean to do it!"

Delia shrugged in disbelief. "What do you mean you didn't mean to do it?! How could you _do _such a thing?!" she cried.

Tears started to come to Ash's eyes. "I don't know," he admitted fearfully, his heart pounding immensely. "I—I don't know!"

"Ash, I know you don't want this divorce, but that is _absolutely_ no excuse for doing this!" she yelled, tossing the useless papers to the floor. At that moment, she came at Ash, causing him to back up swiftly. "Do you realize what you _did?!_"

Ash almost yelped, but she stopped abruptly, and placed her head disconsolately in her hands. Her messed-up hair dangled around her shoulders and covered her face. For a moment, Ash could have sworn that she was coming at him to swat him a couple of times, but to his relief that had not happened. He still trembled fearfully, however. His mom rarely spanked him, but Ash found that she had a tendency to when she became this angry. And he hadn't seen her this angry in ages.

"Get upstairs, Ash," she mumbled, her face still in her hands. Her head suddenly shot up and she glared fiercely at him. "Get upstairs and go to your room this instant! I have to call the town hall to see if I can get new papers. And you'd_ better_ pray that they don't give me a hard time!"

"Mom…" Ash started, holding out his arms in consolation. He was going to attempt to explain, but he didn't get too far.

"_Now!_" she bellowed, pointing furiously at the stairs. She stamped her foot angrily and Ash's heart leapt again. Shrinking back fearfully, he obediently turned and shot up the stairs. He wasn't going to upset her any more than she already was.

As he reached the top of the staircase, millions of thoughts ran through his mind. He wondered first of all what had possibly gone through his mind when he had ripped those papers up, and secondly why in hell had he just _left them there_? How stupid could he have been?! Ash slapped his forehead in utter frustration and realization of his dumbness. That had to be the most stupid, brainless thing he'd ever done.

Filled with indescribable fear, Ash crashed through his bedroom door noisily, and slammed it closed, not locking it. He rested with his back to it for a moment, then began to nervously pace the floor. Beads of sweat cascaded down his face and he huffed large, gulping breaths of air.

His stampeding promenade awakened Misty, and she sat up in her bed looking down confusingly at him. "Ash! What's wrong?" she asked fretfully.

Ash startled for a moment when he heard her voice. He looked up quickly, and Misty herself startled when she saw the fear illuminating from him. Ash was breathing heavily, and his fingers were running through his black hair wildly.

His voice crackled with indubitable terror as he spoke. "Oh, Misty, I'm so dead! My mom's gonna pound me!"

Misty's eyebrows rose in concern. "Why?! What did you do?"

Ash hands fell from his hair to his mouth, where he began to chew them nervously. Misty witnessed his eyes shine over in tears. What could Ash have possibly done to make his mom so mad at him this early in the morning?

Ash was silent for a moment, and Misty leaned forward over the bed impatiently awaiting his response. He looked up at her sheepishly. "I tore up my parents' divorce papers," he said quietly, his voice shaky.

Misty's jaw dropped in shock and her eyes nearly bugged out of her head. "_Ash!_ Why the heck did you do that?!"

Ash shook his head, still not really knowing himself. "I don't know," he moaned. "I really don't know. I—I had them in my hands and I…I…" He trailed off and began to pace the floor again, holding his head shamefully in his hands.

Misty looked to the floor, suddenly at a loss for words.

"My mom's calling the place now," Ash said, walking over to the window and looking out. Tears were beginning to spill slowly down his cheeks. "I can't believe I did this. She's going to kill me! And, oh my God! What if they _won't_ give her new papers? What if she could only have one copy?"

Ash thought he was going to have a heart attack right then and there. He actually grabbed for his chest for a second. Misty realized his insurmountable dread, and spoke up quickly.

"Ash, stop," she said, trying her best to console him. "They'll give her new papers. You don't have to worry about that."

Not replying, Misty could feel that he was still scared, and that it didn't matter what she would tell him. She glanced down at him with a small, nervous smile, but not wide enough to make him mistakenly think she was happy.

"Do you want me to go?" she asked silently, thinking that her being in the room when Delia came up might be a little cumbersome. If Delia was to blow up on Ash, she certainly did not want to be present for it. For her sake and Ash's.

Pausing, Ash looked up beseechingly at her. "Would you?" he asked. He doubted his mother would punish him in front of Misty, but he could not hold complete faith in that, considering Delia's frustration. It was the last thing he needed.

"Of course," she replied, and immediately shuffled out of bed, grabbing Togepi with her. When Ash saw Togepi, he instinctively looked around for Pikachu, but he was not in the room. Ash figured he must have crashed somewhere else that night. Sometimes Pikachu slept on Delia's bed, and he could very well still be cuddled up in her blankets as they spoke.

She smiled nicely at him as she made her way past him. "Good luck," she said.

"Thanks," Ash replied timidly.

Delia came in at exactly the same time Misty left the room. Misty smiled a courteous good-morning to her, which Delia returned, though with rigidity in her voice. Misty slipped out shortly after. This stalled Delia for about a second, but that was one more second for Ash's fear to build up. Although he couldn't bear to think of it, he tensed and waited to receive whatever punishment Delia was going to administer to him.

He couldn't control his emotions, however, when Delia looked at him for the first time, the blaze in her eyes piercing through Ash. A shudder running through him, his waterworks began again, and he broke out in a mess of sobs and pouts, folding his hands into a begging fashion.

"Please, Mom!" Ash pleaded. Delia stood with her hands on her hips, her stern frown intimidating Ash more and more by the second. "I am so, so, _sooo_ sorry! I have no idea why I did it, I really don't! Just, please don't—don't… I—I'm…so…_sorry_…"

At this, he couldn't say any more, and he started to cry loudly, covering his face in his hands. His eyes shut tightly to block the tears, causing him not to notice his mother's face suddenly lighten, her eyes drooping sadly, as she watched her son pour out his apologies to her. He was truly sorry, she could see that, but her conscience battled her, debating silently whether or not she was just going to let him get away with it.

With a heavy, defeated sigh, she walked over to Ash and pulled him into her arms, wrapping them around his head tenderly. She allowed Ash to bury his head into her chest as he wailed, his own arms still wrapped around himself protectively. Her body vibrated gently as Ash cried into her, coughing and sniffling just as much.

"Shhhh…" she soothed sweetly, rocking him back and forth delicately. She stroked his soft hair as she rocked, then carefully led him to the one of the rollaway beds. She seated herself on the bed and Ash followed, wrapping his arms around her in a comforting hug as soon as he sat. Delia squeezed him tighter, her other hand lowering to rub his back sensitively.

"It's okay, Ash," she said mildly, closing her eyes and resting her chin gently on his head. "It's okay now."

There was a momentary silence as this soaked into Ash, not fully coming to the realization yet that his mom had no intention of punishing him. Feeling her warm arms around him lovingly calmed his beating heart, and he unintentionally wiped his wet face on her soft bathrobe. Her hair fell down lightly on his face, tickling his sensitive skin, and her pleasant smell flowed wonderfully up his nose. He smiled with relief to himself, wondering how he could ever fear her.

"I'm sorry, Mama," he apologized inaudibly again, clutching his hands around her back. "I didn't mean to do it."

"I know," she replied, and she started to rock him again. "It's okay."

"R-really?" Ash asked, looking up at her, not sure if he was ready to just accept this sudden change of heart. Sure, it may have been okay, but was that it? She was just going to let it go? Forgive him completely without penalty?

Delia nodded sincerely, though her face was still pulled down in an unhappy frown. Ash knew she wasn't mad anymore, though: her face was calm, her eyes were light, and she wasn't tense. He rested his head on her chest again, and she continued to brush his knotty hair with her fingers.

"But, Ash honey, you have to tell me why," she started, her stare directed at the ceiling. "Why did you do that?"

Ash shrugged. "I really don't know. I just saw the papers, and—and I snapped. I guess…I guess my anger just took over."

"When did you do that?"

"Last night. They…they were just on the table and I spotted them…"

Delia exhaled greatly. "Now, see…that was _my_ mistake. I should have put the damn things away."

"No, Mom," Ash corrected. "You should be able to trust me. And I let you down."

"But still, they were _really_ important," she countered. "That's just ignorance on my part. I was just so, so tired last night, and…it must not have even occurred to me."

Ash didn't respond, and she glanced down at him. She smiled slightly as she stared at her son, still dressed in his pajamas, his slippered feet dangled just above the floor. _Poor guy_, she thought sadly. _He's gone through too much_. Pulling his head down to her shoulder comfortingly, she looked off out the window.

"I thought you guys were back together," Ash suddenly blurted out, wrenching Delia from her thoughts.

"What, baby?" she asked, not quite catching Ash's sudden interjection.

Ash lifted his head. His expression was clouded over with sadness and disappointment, and his mother's heart sank. His mouth curled as the urge to cry came over him again. "I—I thought…when I saw Dad home, that…that you guys were getting back together."

Delia couldn't control the gasp that emerged from her throat. Her heart melted. She gaped at her boy and her eyes started to well up in tears, instantly realizing the trauma that Ash was going through. Imagine, being so full of optimism, only to have to collapse right in front of your eyes. She reached up and stroked his red, raw face.

"Oh, honey…" she choked.

Tears escaped Ash's eyes. "That was my dream come true, you know," he mumbled. "I—I always prayed that somehow you guys would make up. And that Dad would be there at home, waiting for me. And this time he was, and I…I just felt so happy…so—so _complete_."

"Oh, Ash, see?" Delia cried, gripping his shouder. "Can't you see now why I didn't want to tell you? I knew it would be horrible for you, and I didn't want to hurt you!"

Ash nodded, looking down. "But…"

"But what?"

"You…still do love him, though…don't you?" Ash asked hopefully, shocking Delia. She never believed Ash would ever have asked such a question, but as he stared deeply into her eyes, she felt overwhelmed with pressure.

"I—I," she stuttered as Ash looked at her, anticipating the very important answer. Delia hated to do it, but she wasn't going to lie to Ash. "Oh Ash, I…don't think so."

Ash's eyelids fell dejectedly. "Oh," he answered somberly.

"Sweetheart, it's a lot tougher than you think," Delia explained, holding Ash close to her. She couldn't believe how difficult it was to tell him this. "I've considered getting back together so many times, I really did. But it—it's just not that easy. All I can find myself thinking about is what he did, and wondering, _constantly _wondering if…if he'd ever do it again."

Ash didn't reply. His memory was flashing back to the disrupted period in his life, when he thought his life could not get any unhappier. When his mom found out that his dad had cheated on her. As Ash had grown older, he understood the situation more, often shuddering at the thought of it. He loved Jay, but he just couldn't imagine how he would do that to his mom, hurt her that way. Destroy their secure, happy lives so irresponsibly and selfishly.

"But don't you miss him sometimes?" Ash asked softly, his head still rested cozily on her chest. "Aren't you lonely for him?"

Delia took a deep breath; Ash could feel it. "Yes," she answered simply, causing Ash's head to rise. "I do sometimes, but…I don't think it will ever be the same between us. He's your father, Ash. He always will be. But I think it's time that…that it would be better this way. Don't you understand?"

"I guess so," Ash replied. "I--I just thought that maybe, well…"

"What?" his mother encouraged gently.

"I dunno," responded Ash, shaking his head. "I thought you still loved him. You talked about him so favorably all those times, that…that, well, we talked about him."

Delia sighed. "That's because I didn't want to upset you, honey. I thought if I always told you how much I hat—_didn't like_ him, it would bother you."

"I'd rather you be truthful with me."

Delia slouched and looked out the window. Ash could sense the meaning behind the sudden silence, and he lowered his head.

"Then I will be truthful with you, Ash," she said suddenly. Ash's eyes swept up to hers eagerly. "I don't love him anymore. I haven't for a while." Her voice was shaking, which Ash couldn't help but catching. She was breathing heavily, and her eyes were shooting all over the room. "What he did to me was—was something I hope you never have to experience. It's…awful. And I want to put it all behind me; I want to get rid of it. I have to move on."

Their eyes met. For a moment, nothing passed between them. As Delia's words sank into him, he could see her attention darting nervously. He held her hands tightly, cold and tight as they were. Though he wanted to believe every word she said simply for the sake of trusting her assertions, something didn't make sense. He had to ask. If he didn't, none of this would make complete sense to him.

"If you don't love him," he started carefully, bracing himself, "and you want to move on… How come, after all these years, you still have your wedding portraits still hanging in your room?"

Delia's heart leapt and she drew back slightly from Ash. Her son perked, getting the reaction he almost anticipated, and glared at her, not in a mean fashion, but in a 'can you explain this?' fashion. She turned her gaze away from him and bit her lip, which Ash trembled excitedly at.

The thought of the wedding pictures had just occurred to him. Delia had three of them hanging above her vanity—big, colorful 8x10 photos of her and Jay exchanging rings, one of them posing with the wedding party outside the church, and another of them entering their limousine. They were gorgeous, professional portraits, each framed in solid oak and inscribed "Jacey and Delia: October 14th, 1986." They had been hanging there since before Ash was born, twelve months later. He remembered looking at them when he was young, thinking how beautiful they were. And to this day, they were still there, never taken down, never put away. If his mom really hated Jay for what he had done, why were they still there, a constant reminder of happy times long gone?

Delia was in a jam. She trembled ever so slightly, swallowing heavily. She pulled her hands away from Ash and wrung them nervously, finally finding the courage to look at her son.

"I guess I just never had the ambition to do it," Delia replied. She clenched her teeth shut, just realizing then that she had deceived Ash again. She loved the pictures, she couldn't help but admit. Her wedding day, besides the day she had Ash, was the happiest day of her life, and even after Jay had left, the thought of the event brought a warm, happy feeling over her. No later to be replaced by a depressing one, thinking of how something she thought was so right turned out to be so wrong.

"Besides, I paid a damn lot of money for them," she continued, stifling a small chuckle.

Ash just stared, and Delia stood up, patting him softly on the shoulder and kissing him on top of his head.

"I guess you guys want breakfast," she changed the subject. "Your dad will be home from the store soon, so I should have breakfast ready."

"Okay," Ash managed, still sitting in the same position, his heart pumping vigorously.

As she walked out the door, she suddenly stopped and looked back at him. "I wasn't planning on going anywhere today, but later I…I have to go to Viridian City to get new papers. Just—just to let you know."

Ash's face fell. "Sorry," he whispered.

Delia smiled forgivingly. "I told you, it's okay. It's behind us now, all right?"

Ash brushed his foot along the ground. "You aren't going to tell Dad, are you?" he asked with small, puppy-dog eyes.

"No," she answered sincerely, smiling. "I won't."

Ash smiled, and she left the room. He collapsed on the bed, the whole morning's event swirling in his head. He was _alive_, and he couldn't believe it! But the fact that he had successfully gotten himself out of such a tight jam swiftly became one of the last things on his mind.

Misty came in a little after that, and she found Ash staring at the ceiling, engaged in thought. She modestly knocked on the door and Ash's head lifted. He didn't look too happy.

"Is everything okay?" Her tone was cautiously.

"No," Ash replied, and she tensed. His eyes burned into her with fierce gravity and she backed away a little, anxious.

"What?" she asked nervously.

"She still likes him."

"Huh?!"

Ash took a deep breath, and his face lit up with a smile she would have never expected to see on his face that morning. "She still likes him and he likes her, and come hell or high water, I'm gonna do whatever it takes to help."

TO BE CONTINUED . . .

Note to **Trish** and all others who were wondering about the lei game: One night, SaltNPepper and I were at Pepper's house, and she's got a ceiling fan in her room. I dunno who started it, but she had a Hawaiian lei and someone threw it up at the fan, ya know, just to be stupid and all. (If it was too be stupid, it was probably me! ) Anyway, the lei got caught on the fan, spun around a couple times, and then landed right on whoever's head, I don't know whose! This was, like, a really long time ago, and I have a short memory! So then we kept throwing it up on the fan, stood in different sections of the room, and kept score of how many times we each caught it. The lei always flew off in different directions, and sometimes it even got caught on the fan. When that happened, we got more points. We couldn't use our hands or anything. We played that for about an hour until the lei was in tatters from being thrown at the fan so much. It was sooo much fun! I think I won, but I don't remember. So that's what inspired that part. Hope this clears it up!


	9. The First Test

**Stars Fell on Pallet Town**

by Spruceton Spook

Part 9

The First Test

When Brock came out of his shower, he found Ash and Misty standing in his room, utterly speechless. Feeling the weird tension in the room, he had to ask.

"Ash is talking crazy talk!" Misty exclaimed, pointing at him.

"What?" Brock asked, swinging his bath towel around his neck. Little droplets of water still dripped from his spiky hair.

Ash sighed. "I think my parents still like each other," he clarified.

Misty turned to Brock with an incredulous face. "See what I mean?"

Brock shook his head confusingly. "Wait, wait! What do you mean you still think your parents like each other?" He returned Misty's weird expression. "Um, correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't they getting a divorce?"

"Ash, you're going insane!" Misty shouted. "What the hell did your mom do to you?"

"She didn't do anything to me," Ash answered with a grin. "That's because deep down she's glad I ripped up the papers!"

"Wait a second, what papers?" Brock asked. "I take a fifteen minute shower and I miss something?"

Misty sighed agitatedly. "He ripped up their divorce papers. You dumbass, I'm surprised she didn't tear your head off! What the hell are you talking about?!"

Brock's eyebrows rose in surprise. "You _ripped up_ their divorce papers? What do have, a death wish or something?"

Ash shrugged. "That's what I'm saying! Why didn't she punish me, huh?"

"She must still be half asleep," Misty laughed, shaking her head. "I'd watch out later if I were you."

Ash chuckled and spun around in a circle. "But _listen to me_, guys! There's more! I think I can tell that she still likes him."

"How?" Brock asked doubtfully.

"Yeah, I'd like to _hear_ this," Misty added, folding her arms in front of her.

Ash pounced to his window and looked down the road to see if his dad was coming, shrugged, then turned back to them. They stood looking confusingly at him, and this made Ash grin.

"Mom still has her wedding pictures hanging up," he said. "She's never taken them down."

Misty scowled. "So?"

"If she hates Dad as much as she 'claims,'" Ash replied, bending his fingers to look like quotes, "she would've had them ripped off the wall in a _second_."

He finished his statement and smiled anticipatively at his friends, who looked at him as if he was insane. They each had a grin on their face, and shook their heads back and forth sadly.

"Ash," Misty said carefully, coming up to him and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Ash face-faulted, but recovered immediately. "Why won't you believe me on this?" he asked strenuously.

"Because you have absolutely _no _hard evidence," Brock answered. "I mean, I could see you thinking this, say, if your mom was staring _dreamingly_ at him when his back was turned to her or something. But this is stupid!"

"Yeah, Ash," Misty agreed.

Ash huffed and folded his arms in front of him. Sure, they could believe anything they wanted. But he was sure of it. Delia's way of speaking was almost exactly the same as when he had called her the other day, and he still wasn't even sure of that. Maybe his mom was crying because she really didn't want to do it. All the same, Ash knew that perhaps she wasn't lying, but not completely telling the truth. If she had, her voice wouldn't have been shaking…as well as her body. There just _had_ to be something else.

"Fine guys, believe whatever you want," Ash said, opening his drawers to pull some clothes out. "But I'm gonna do whatever it takes to show them what they're doing is _wrong_."

Misty snickered. "And how are you gonna do that, huh?"

Ash turned to her and grinned sneakily. "You'll see," he replied. "Tonight, you'll see."

About a half an hour later, after Ash, Misty, and Brock were all dressed and ready for the day, Jay returned from the supermarket with bags of food. Delia had a delicious breakfast of waffles for them, and they all gobbled them up hungrily. It was near noon, and everyone was all awake after a long, deserved sleep.

Delia didn't mention the divorce papers at all, and she had no intention of doing so, that was until Jay asked Ash excitedly if he wanted to battle soon. Before his son had a chance to answer, Delia broke the news to Jay that they had to make a surprise trip to Viridian City to get new divorce papers. Jay was shocked, to say the least, and instantly asked what happened to the others. Delia looked nervously at Ash, who gave her his best beseeching face, and Delia replied with a guilty grin that she had spilled coffee all over the others. Her husband shook his head and mumbled something, not seeing Delia and Ash exchange winks. Misty and Brock tried to hide their smiles as best as they could.

"We'll have to go soon, Jay," Delia said, picking up the dirty plates off the table. "The town hall closes at five."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Jay said, pushing his chair out while wiping his mouth. "This is _just_ what I wanted to do today," he added sarcastically.

"Well, sorry," Delia mumbled. "You know how clumsy I can be."

Ash, Misty, and Brock pinched themselves under the table to keep from laughing. Ash clenched his teeth shut, knowing a sudden outburst would blow the whole thing. He wouldn't have expected Jay to be angry with him that much, but it was still something he thought should be avoided. After all these years, he didn't feel like being reprimanded by his father for acting so irresponsibly. It would have weighed heavily on his heart and already fragile state of mind.

Delia and Jay left for Viridian City right after the dishes were done. They hurried out, figuring it was a good hour trip to Viridian by car and a good hour back, not to mention the possible waiting that they would have to do at the town hall. They had acquired their marriage license and were married in Viridian City, and had received the first set of divorce papers from there. Delia, who was never late for anything, wanted to get out as soon as possible.

"Bye guys," she said, waving to Misty and Brock and kissing Ash. "We'll be back in, I'd say, three, four hours."

"Okay," Ash replied, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Be good," Jay said with a wink, closing the door behind him and Delia.

"We will! Don't worry!" Misty called after them.

As soon as the door was shut, Ash spun around to face Misty and Brock. His eyes were set directly to Brock's, however.

"Brock, quick! What fancy meal can you cook up in three hours?" he asked hurriedly and nervously, practically grabbing onto him.

Brock startled. "Wha—what?! What are you talking about?"

"Just—what can you cook up?" Ash asked again, his voice pouring out in an impatient tone.

"I don't know," he struggled, shrugging. "Why?"

"Yeah, what's the deal?" Misty questioned.

Ash calmed for a moment, and started to grin proudly. "When those guys come home, they're going to have a fancy, romantic dinner waiting for them!"

Misty and Brock frowned. "_What_?" they exclaimed together.

Ash threw his head into his hands, wondering just why they were playing dumb with him. He looked back sternly, but jokingly, at them.

"Can't you see?" he asked. "We're gonna set them up on a date tonight. A date here. There'll be a good dinner, fancy place-setting, romantic music, the works!"

"And just how exactly are we gonna pull this off?" Misty asked in a tone of ridiculous uncertainty.

"Well, they'll be home in a few hours," Ash explained. "By then, the table will be set, the dinner will be done, and we'll be _gone_." He turned to Brock again. "Well, what can you make? Nothing bland, or whatever. Something fancy!"

Brock shrugged, lost in the spontaneity of the moment. "I dunno, what does you mom have?"

Ash groaned and thought. "Well, she always has chicken. Make somethin' with chicken."

"How does chicken parmesan sound?"

"Fine, fine!" Ash replied, giving Brock a brusque shove into the kitchen. "Make that! Go on!"

"All right, all right, calm down," Brock chuckled, and headed to the freezer.

As soon as Brock was in the kitchen, Ash now turned to Misty, who was getting a good dose of humor out of this. Ash was jumping around crazily, more than she had ever seen him, and it was a shame he had no idea what he was really doing.

"All right, Misty, you're good at this," Ash said. "Help me set the table."

He grabbed her hand and dragged her reluctantly behind, her feet digging into the carpet.

"Ash, will you calm down?" Misty said. They reached the table, and Ash immediately sprang to get a good tablecloth out. "You're going crazy. You really think this is gonna work?"

"Of course I do," Ash answered simply. He held up two fancy tablecloths, one of white, lacy material, another one a plain white with a floral design. "Which one?"

"Ash…" Misty groaned.

"Come on Misty!" Ash cried imploringly. "You're the romantic here! Which one is better?"

Misty sighed and pointed. "The lace."

Ash smiled, and stuffed the other in the drawer, immediately setting to work with the tablecloth.

"Ash!" Brock's voice floated from the kitchen.

"What?"

"Your mom only has chicken _breasts_ in here!" he answered, annoyed. "I can't make chicken parmesan with that!"

"Well, what _can_ you make?"

"Uh…roast chicken."

"Then make that!" Ash shouted, shaking his head. "You're the cook, not me!"

He went back to smoothing out the tablecloth, which Misty had helped him do. Ash stood back and admired his work when he was done, smiling at Misty.

"What next?" he asked her.

"Plates would be helpful," she answered. "Say, what makes you think your mom's gonna want to sit down to this, anyway?"

Ash placed his hands on his hips. "I _know_ my mom, Misty. She's a romantic just like you. She'll be thrilled over this, I guarantee it."

"Whatever," replied Misty. "Where are the fancy plates?"

Ash scrunched his face up. "Well, she has her fancy plates in the china cabinet there," he said, pointing. He took a deep breath. "But Mom doesn't like me handling them. They're really old and stuff."

Misty walked over to the cabinet and opened it. "Well, I'll take them out, okay? Besides, what's a fancy dinner without fancy plates?"

Ash grinned and relief spread throughout him. Misty was finally getting into the swing of it. He was glad, and as she placed the plates carefully on the table, he smiled graciously at her. "Thanks, Misty," he said softly.

She returned the smile. "Hey, ya know, I think this _is _nice," she admitted. "It's just—I've never seen this side to you before. I thought you hated this gushy love stuff."

Ash shrugged. "Well, when you want people to fall in love with each other as much as I want my folks to, you have to think right."

"Oh, Ash…I think this is great what you're doing for them," she admitted as she watched him carefully center the plates in front of the seats. "I really hope this works."

Ash looked up surprisingly at her. "You do?"

"Of course," she answered. "Why wouldn't I? Now, where's the silverware?"

Ash went over and got the silverware out. He looked at them admiringly, a whole new positive feeling taking over him. At least he wasn't alone now. Misty and Brock were sincerely helping him. Although Misty thought it was ridiculous at first, her sudden change of heart encouraged him more. Maybe, just maybe, it would work.

* * *

A few hours later, the table was set perfectly, decked out with fancy napkins, candles, and wine glasses. Brock's roast chicken was simmering in the oven, and he had the rice and broccoli in their respective pots. Since he had some time, he decided to clean the house a bit, figuring that Delia would relax more with a cleaner house when she came home.

Misty and Ash were seated on the couch, taking in the flickering TV sleepily. Pikachu and Togepi were asleep themselves, cushioned cozily in the small space between their trainers. Brock came in upon finishing the last of the housework and sat on the couch beside them.

"So, what's the plan after this?" he asked.

"When they pull up, we leave," Ash said. "I wrote this note for them so they won't get worried about where we are. We'll just go to Professor Oak's for a couple hours, I figured, so that would be enough time. The food will be hot on the stove, I already put a bottle of wine in the fridge, and some music will be on. All they have to do is relax and eat."

"Unless of course they call us up demanding we get home, and cut the foolishness out," Misty retorted, her eyes never leaving the TV.

"That won't happen," Brock said, motioning to the kitchen. "I make some pretty damn good roast chicken."

They all laughed, but not loud enough to hear Delia's car pull up beside the house. Their eyes all rose, and they tensed.

"Quick, let's go!" Ash cried, bolting off the couch. Pikachu and Togepi stirred, and jumped immediately into their arms. "The dinner's ready, right, Brock?"

"It has been for a while," Brock replied, ripping off his apron and throwing it up the stairs and out of the way.

Ash nearly collided with the stereo, pressing the play button hurriedly. Soft old jazz music began to hum from the speakers, while Misty dimmed the lights in the dining room. Brock, in the meantime, lit the candles swiftly, and they all rushed to the back door soon after. They were not out three seconds when the front door opened.

"Ash, we're home!" Delia called into the house. For a moment, she didn't realize the different atmosphere, but upon taking two steps into the house, she suddenly froze. Jay almost collided into her.

"Whoa! What's wrong?" he asked, but he didn't need an answer.

For a few good seconds, they observed the scene surprisingly. The house was dark, the music playing through it gently. With a look of shock, Delia walked slowly into the house.

"Ash? Misty? Brock? Hello!" she said. "Where are you guys?"

"Um, Delia," Jay said, waving her over. "Come look at this."

He was standing beside the couch, reading a small slip of paper. Delia came over and carefully pulled the paper out of his hands and read it slowly.

"They aren't here," he clarified, a small smile tweaking his lips. He looked over at his wife, who was reading the note, speechless.

"Dinner?" she asked, giving him a confused look. She sniffed, along with Jay, and sure enough, the delicious aroma of chicken floated through the air.

"Hmmm," Jay mumbled pleasantly, walking slowly into the kitchen. He went over to the pot and lifted up the lids, releasing small puffs of steam. As Delia came in, still in a state of disbelief, Jay smiled at her again.

"They made dinner for us, ya know," he said incredulously.

"Well, that's _obvious_," she replied, opening the oven to see the roasted chicken simmering. "But why would they do this?"

Jay sighed, turning to the dining room. Instantly, the place-setting caught his eye, and he gave Delia a nudge. "Hey. That's why."

As soon as Delia saw the wine glasses, her good plates and silverware, and the fancy lace tablecloth, she realized what was going on.

"Ash," she said.

Jay nodded.

Delia sighed sadly at the setting, but smiled softly nonetheless. "Aw, he shouldn't have done this. What…what was he thinking?"

"Guess you can't blame him for trying, can you?" Jay responded, shrugging.

Delia shook her head. "Guess not…"

"We…we are going to eat, aren't we?" Jay asked, his eyebrows rising in question. Delia almost grinned at his expression; she could basically see the drool begging to escape his optimistic grin.

"I don't know," Delia replied, suddenly feeling nervous. Sure, this was all fun and games for Ash, whose hopes were higher than the sky, but she realized then that for all the work they had put into this, they may as well eat.

"Come on, let's do it," Jay urged, walking over to pull the chair out for Delia. She tensed at this, but smiled anyway as she sat down. "I'll get the food for us."

Delia fidgety played with her hands under the table, her heart racing. At this point, she didn't know what to think. She figured it was no harm to sit down with Jay to dinner, which she had done for a few days before Ash had come, but the elegance of it all was a little intimidating.

Jay came in a few minutes later with the wine. Delia took a deep breath.

"Look what they put in the fridge," he said with a chuckle.

"How did Ash get in the liquor cabinet?" Delia asked with deadpan seriousness. When she saw Jay freeze in apprehension, she smiled and giggled reassuringly. "I'm kidding. I don't lock it anymore."

Jay visually reclined and laughed as he poured the wine into Delia's glass. "Oh good, I thought we had a future cat burglar on our hands!"

Delia was the one to laugh this time, and Jay sauntered eagerly to get the food.

* * *

Ash, Misty, and Brock never went to Professor Oak's. Oh sure, they were on their way there, with Ash looking back at his house anxiously every couple of seconds. Finally, he couldn't stand it anymore, and he darted back to his house, Misty and Brock having no choice but to follow.

They now sat in the bushes outside the dining room window, the small glare from the house giving them a little light. Ash stood on his tippy-toes but still cowered a little, trying to get the best look he could without being spotted.

"_Ash_!" Misty cried in a whisper. "What are you doing?! Get back here!"

"I have to see what's going on!" he insisted.

"But they'll see you!" Brock called, also in a frantic whisper.

"Hold on a sec," Ash said with a small laugh. "I have to see if they sat down! I have to see if they're eating!"

Brock and Misty gave up, trying their best to hide their smiles. They watched silently as Ash stepped up to look in the window, which was too high. Lightly cursing, he looked around, and spotted the large, green garbage cans sitting by the side of the house. With a smile, he pulled one of the cans over quietly to the window.

"What are you doing _now_?!" Misty asked annoyingly.

"You'll see!" Ash said, centering the can in front of the window. He searched around for a good step-up, finally leaping up onto the top. The can rocked around a bit, and Ash almost lost his footing for a second, but quickly steadied himself.

"You're gonna kill yourself, Ash," Brock told him. "Get down!"

Ash seemed to ignore him, however, as he carefully rose to his feet. The can wobbled a bit more, but he balanced himself by leaning on the window sill. Peering hazily into the window, a small grin spread slowly across his face, and his body started to tremble.

Delia and Jay were seated at the table, their forks delicately picking up the food. The wine was all poured, the candles were still lit. But that wasn't what Ash was noticing the most. They were looking at each other. They were talking. They were _smiling_. Ash's smile brightened more.

"They're...they're happy!" Ash squealed delightedly.

"What?" Brock and Misty asked simultaneously, not catching his words.

Ash turned to them. "They're in there eating dinner! I can't believe it!"

Suddenly, the measly, weak plastic lid to the garbage crumbled beneath his weight. Ash yelped as his footing fell out from underneath him and the garbage can gave way.

"Ash!" Misty cried loudly as the can tipped over, pitching Ash harshly to the ground. The two cringed as the noise occurred, and each opened one eye to see Ash sprawled flat on his back on the lawn.

Inside, the sound wasn't too inconspicuous, either. As soon as the crash occurred, Jay and Delia stirred, abruptly turning to the window.

"What the hell was that?" Jay cried, jumping to his feet.

Smiling slightly, Delia sighed and dumped her flushed face in her palm. "My guess would be our son."

They walked over to the window and peered out to see Ash sheepishly lying on the ground. Delia grinned at him and placed her hands on her hips, shaking her head. Ash just smiled more, waving at them meekly.

"Hi," he squeaked. "Enjoy the dinner?"

TO BE CONTINUED . . .


	10. Team Rocket Strikes

**Stars Fell on Pallet Town**

by Spruceton Spook

Part 10

Team Rocket Strikes

"Pikachu, thunderbolt now!" Ash ordered enthusiastically.

Pikachu jumped up, and with a loud battle cry, let loose his powerful electric attack, which struck its target dead on. Brock's Zubat sizzled, finally fainting to the ground.

Brock grumbled. "Come on back now, Zubat!" he said, holding out his Pokéball as it recalled its inhabitant. He looked back at Ash, and with a sly grin, waved another Pokéball in front of his opponent's eyes. "You won't like this one too much, Ash!"

"Try me!" Ash cried happily and determinedly.

He tossed the Pokéball into the air, and in an instant, Brock's huge Onix came out, growling loudly. Ash just grinned wider, the appearance of the huge Pokémon no longer intimidating him much.

It was another beautiful afternoon in Pallet Town, the weather ideal once again. The day was a little cooler than the previous, and Ash found it perfect weather for battling. It was quite early, and Jay had finally promised Ash that he would battle with him later on. Ash had asked Brock to battle him in an attempt to warm up for the long-awaited event.

Ash was on a natural high, the affairs of last night constantly repeating in his mind. After he had clumsily disrupted his parents' dinner, Delia and Jay had told welcomed them in. Mad at himself for cutting their evening short, his disappointment was suddenly lifted when his mom rushed over to him and picked him up in a huge hug. She kissed him over and over again, thanking him for being so sweet. A little amazed, Ash could only laugh nervously.

But before Ash got anymore excited, Delia told him to sit down. Confused at first, Ash asked them if the dinner was good, and they confirmed it was. Nevertheless, Delia calmly explained to him that she realized the obvious reason why he had done it, and smiling meekly, Ash asked her if it worked. With a small sigh, she said no, and that although she and Jay appreciated it, it did not change their minds.

Brock and Misty thought that Ash would be upset after that. Surprisingly, Ash was still in the good mood he had been in since that morning. When asked what he felt like, he simply told them that it was only the beginning, and went to get ready for bed.

Ash's positive mood lasted through the night and up until now. Misty watched him and Brock happily from the sidelines, bouncing Togepi lightly on her knee. She was glad that all was okay, and that this day had not begun the way the others had.

"C'mon, Pikachu! Let's do this!" Ash shouted to his charged up Pokémon, and Pikachu nodded affirmatively. Sparks crackled from his cheeks, and he bared his teeth competitively.

"Go, Onix!" Brock shouted. "Bind!"

"Pikachu, get out of the way!" It was too late, however, as Onix's huge boulders wrapped around the small mouse, gripping it tightly in its clutches. Pikachu struggled helplessly, the bind attack his worst weakness against Onix. With a heavy sigh, Ash knew Pikachu was defeated.

"Okay, Pikachu, return!" said Ash, and Brock ordered Onix to let go.

Pikachu huffed and puffed exhaustibly on the ground, but had enough strength to waddle over to Ash. With a smile, Ash patted him softly on the head and congratulated him.

"Save up your energy. I'll need you later, buddy," Ash told him, and Pikachu nodded.

He turned back to Brock and snickered softly. "Chikorita! I choose you!"

Chikorita popped out immediately, rushing to Ash's side. She rubbed against his leg affectionately, cooing softly. Ash giggled and scratched her head. "All right, all right. Go get 'im, Chikorita!"

"Chika!" Chikorita said, jumping into her battle stance.

Unbeknownst to them, they were being spied on. It wasn't Gary again this time, though. But with the outlook that Ash had against his rival lately, he would have probably graciously invited these three into his home instantly.

"Hehe. Looks like ol' Pikachu's pooped out," Jessie smirked, narrowing her eyes with an evil smile. She was squatting down heavily, shifting back and forth on her feet uncomfortably. It didn't seem to bother her much as her eyes focused directly on the drained Pokémon in front of her. "Now's our perfect chance."

Her partner grinned, also, squatting down beside her. The twigs of the bushes brushed harshly against their bodies, but they didn't mind. They had been enduring it for some time, watching their adversaries attentively.

"Should we strike now?" James asked excitedly.

"Yeah, we've waited long enough," Meowth added, hopping onto their shoulders to get a better look. "And it's right dere!"

Sure enough, Pikachu had crashed basically right in front of them. He was in the shade, and the panting, tired Pokémon had found it more relaxing there. Too bad it was the wrong place.

"Okay," Jessie said, pulling long, yellow rubber gloves over her others, "here's the plan."

"You mean we have one?" James asked confusingly.

Jessie looked strangely at him. "Hey, everything we do's a plan. Whether it's thought out long and hard or not."

"Well, ya know, sneaking up and snatching dat Pikachu out of nowhere is actually a really basic plan, ain't it?" Meowth asked, smirking a little. "Aren't all our schemes centered around dat?"

"Oh shut up, will ya?" Jessie growled. "Give me some credit here. I have a good feeling about this time…even if it is the simplest plan." Wiggling her rubber-covered fingers proudly, she returned her attention to the scene in front of them, and a smile spread across the face.

"Stay here," she said as she began to creep towards Pikachu. She crawled over on her hands and knees, ever so quietly and slowly. Her eyes nervously darted from Pikachu to the twerps, making sure their attention was anywhere but towards her.

"Come on Jessie!" James cheered softly under his breath.

Meowth's eyes rose in astonishment. "I can't believe it! She's almost dere!"

Jessie inched her way over to Pikachu more and more, her eyes set upon Ash, who was too busy shouting out orders to Chikorita that he was utterly oblivious to the world around him. With an evil and determined grin, Jessie grabbed Pikachu, clasping one hand tightly around his body, and another across his mouth.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried, though it only came out as a mumble from underneath Jessie's strong hand.

"Haha! Got ya now!" Jessie squealed quietly, grasping the struggling Pokémon in her grip. "You're comin' with us this time, Pikachu."

Pikachu struggled more and more, his electricity starting to build up. At first, he started to emit small shocks, hoping that it would loosen Jessie's grasp. But to his horror, he realized that it was no match against her rubber gloved hands.

Instantly, Jessie hopped up and ran to where her partners were waiting. James and Meowth now sported their own pairs of rubber gloves, prepared just in case Pikachu proved to be a slippery one…or if Jessie had a lousy handhold. Either way.

"Come on, let's go! Let's go!" Jessie hollered, and the three took off towards their balloon, which was a few hundred feet away. Pikachu wiggled powerlessly in Jessie's hands, moaning loudly in hopes of getting Ash's attention.

"It's no use, Pikachu!" James said happily. "There's no escaping this time!"

"Haha!" Meowth chanted as he sprinted a little ahead of them. "We finally did it dis time!"

Unfortunately for them, it was too good to be true. In their rhapsodic sprint of escape, Jessie didn't realize just how close she was gaining on the slower moving Meowth in front of her. She screeched loudly as her legs suddenly tangled around Meowth. The cat screamed as he felt Jessie's feet trip over him, and Jessie fell harshly to the ground, bringing Meowth to the ground along with her.

In the confusion of the sudden event, Jessie's grasp on Pikachu released. Pikachu immediately grabbed at the opportunity, and broke free from Jessie.

"Pika pi! Pika pi! Pikachu!" Pikachu cried without hesitation. His throat stung at his loud cries for help, but thankfully it proved successful.

Ash's head shot up from the battle, as did Misty and Brock's.

"Pikachu?" Ash asked worriedly. Sweat began to pour from his forehead when he noticed Pikachu was not around. In an instant, he shot off towards where Pikachu's cry had come, completely abandoning the battle. Misty and Brock got up and ran, too.

Back with Team Rocket not fifty feet away, Pikachu maneuvered around Jessie, James, and Meowth, who surrounded him although two-thirds of the trio were down.

"Oh no!" Jessie cried. "Quick! It's getting away!"

"Come back here!" James brawled, making a dive for the Pokémon.

"_Pikachu!!_" Pikachu cried, giving the Rocket member a painful thundershock. James screamed as the electricity singed his body, and Pikachu took off back to the Ketchum backyard.

"Not so fast!" Jessie shouted, grabbing Pikachu's tail as he ran by. The painful, abrupt tug sent Pikachu stumbling to the ground, causing him to scream dreadfully. He was still quite tired from the battle, the little amount of energy left in him dwindling down considerably. He wanted so much to shock again, but he was too worn out to produce anything but mere sparks.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried out to him, rushing to the edge of the yard. His eyes widened when he spotted the familiar white uniforms of his enemies, and anger boiled in his blood. "No, not you again!"

"Pika pi!" Pikachu moaned desperately to Ash.

James, recovering from the thundershock, smirked evilly at Ash. "You got that right, kid."

"Give me back Pikachu right now!" Ash demanded angrily, clenching his fists. He knew that that wouldn't do a thing, but he splurged out what was coming to his mind.

"We're not in the mood for this!" Brock grumbled.

"Why don't you morons give us a break, already?" Misty complained loudly.

Instead, this provoked the trio even more, and they uttered their low, sickening laughter. Jessie hopped up from the ground, Pikachu dangling upside down by his tail in her fist. Meowth got up as well, and together they stood rigidly, causing Ash, Misty, and Brock to brace themselves for nothing else but the expected.

"Prepare for trouble!" Jessie chimed, the motto stimulating her all of a sudden.

James leaned slightly against her back. "And make that double!"

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love…"

"…To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Haha! Jessie!" she cried, thrusting the fist not holding Pikachu into the air.

"James!" he added, adding a small, mysteriously romantic twist to it.

"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

Meowth threw himself in front of them for a dramatic conclusion, adding his oh-so-famous line. "Meowth, dat's right!"

Ash fumed viciously at them, baring his teeth infuriately. "I swear, don't start this now! Give me back my Pikachu!"

"Sorry, twerp," James said shrugging. "No can do this time."

Ash's rage was building insurgently within him, his teeth clamping down firmly. Instead of feeling mad and bothered by Team Rocket's sudden appearance, he felt like he wanted to sink dejectedly into the ground. Although many times he felt completely fed up with having to battle them, today it was nagging at him more. This was just not the time nor the place.

"I'm not kidding!" he said, trying his best to sound somewhat threatening.

Jessie, James, and Meowth looked at each other, giving each other sarcastically-scared faces.

"Oh, do you hear that, James?" Jessie said, holding her hand to her heart.

"Is…is he trying to _scare_ us?" James asked, his eyes widening.

Jessie pretended to breathe heavily. "God, I've never been so terrified in all my life!"

"I want to go home!" James moaned. "Help, someone!"

At that, they broke out in an uproar of laughter, their stomachs heaving as they smirked banteringly at Ash.

Their hateful mocking provoked Ash's emotions even more, and he bit his lip furiously. An unstoppable wave of tears crept from the corners of his eyes, and his heart pumped angrily.

"I mean it! This is the last thing I need right now!" he bellowed, taking a step towards them.

Jessie straightened and looked down at him. "Oh _please_, twerp. Like we really give a damn?"

"Yeah, we have only one thing on our minds!" James added nastily.

This was ultimately it for Ash. He reached up and swiftly wiped the oncoming tears from his eyes, and beckoned for his only available Pokémon, Chikorita. She came rushing to him as Ash spat out the command forcefully.

"Chikorita! Razor leaf them _now_!" he ordered, his voice coming out in a muffle of determination and sobs.

"Go Weezing!" James said, releasing his poison gas Pokémon. "Tackle attack!"

Weezing flew directly at Chikorita, crashing into the creature so powerfully that it sent her tumbling across the lawn. Moaning, she tried to get up to continue the fight, but unfortunately her fatigue from the battle not moments ago took over her. She fainted to the ground, sprawled out. James chuckled proudly to himself, and recalled Weezing.

"_Chikorita!_" Ash cried as he witnessed the impact. His eyes, already glistening with the promise of definite tears, fixated on his knocked-out Pokémon, no sooner sweeping over to the scene of his defenseless Pikachu still in Team Rocket's clutch. If only he hadn't battled them so hard! It was all his fault…all his fault…

The words repeated themselves over and over again in his mind, and the run of tears gave way, spilling down his cheeks in streams. He ultimately broke down, sinking to the ground and grabbing at his head, lowering himself in ruin.

"Please…" he begged, "…please give…me back…Pikachu…"

Team Rocket was shocked at this, and their faces suddenly fell. This was something they never saw, and for a moment, Ash's breakdown threw them off guard. They watched worriedly as Ash sat motionless, his head buried from the world, sobbing out his pleas to them. No fight. No demand. He just suddenly…gave up.

"You have _some_ nerve!"

Team Rocket turned to see the other two twerps glaring at them with unmistakable appall. They cowered back slightly.

"How _dare_ you even do this to him now!" Misty bawled, looking helplessly at Ash. She wanted more than anything to rush to his side, but she knew that if Ash wanted anything from her, it was to get Pikachu back.

"I…uh, we…" James stumbled over the words, the confusion setting into him.

"He's going through a tough time, and the last thing he needs is trouble from you three!" Brock yelled, reaching at the Pokéballs at his belt. Misty, too, was ready to battle, even though she had no Pokémon. If she could scratch Jessie's eyes out, she would. There was nothing stopping her.

"Tough time?" Jessie repeated with perplexity.

She and James looked at each other, exchanging confused and worried looks. Pikachu was still trying to squirm out of Jessie's hand, his eyes melting at the sight of his trainer in a time of need. As best as he could, he concentrated everything on his power surge, hopefully building it up enough.

"Give back Pikachu!" Brock bellowed thunderously. "If you don't, I—"

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a huge orange blur shot past Misty and Brock, startling them. They stared surprisingly at the mass, finally discovering a large, almost immense Arcanine hunching between them and Team Rocket, growling ferociously, its eyes glaring at the frightened Team Rocket. The action even took Ash by surprise, and he watched the Arcanine wide-eyed.

There was no pause as the three twirled around, seeing no one else but Jay standing there, his eyes fixed resolutely on Team Rocket. He glared in utter animosity at the motionless trio, his teeth curled back in a murderous frown. Backing up ever so slightly, Team Rocket's eyes darted from the stranger to the snarling Arcanine before them.

"You!" Jay shouted to them, bringing their eyes to him. "Release my son's Pikachu _right now_!"

"Y-your son?" Jessie muttered. She jumped a little when the Arcanine barked loudly at them.

"Uh-oh," James groaned, backing away with a nervous grin on his face.

"That's right, and I _know_ who you three are!" Jay roared. "Give my boy back his Pikachu immediately, and I'm warning you to _stay away from him_."

He was almost uttering the threats calmly, though his voice grumbled angrily. His arms hung straight at his sides, and for a moment, Misty noticed that Ash sometimes stood the exact same way.

Team Rocket was in a state of indefinite shock. They stood staring gape-eyed at Jay, then looking down at Ash, who was lying on his knees on the ground. The family resemblance was most certainly there, and the three gulped harshly. The fact that a snarling, huge Arcanine was in front of them didn't help either.

Their inactivity stirred Jay more, and he looked to Arcanine. "Arcanine, fire spin," he ordered calmly and silently.

Arcanine opened its mouth slightly, and Team Rocket sweatdropped heavily as a huge ball of fire formed in the dog's mouth.

"Oh…no…" Jessie moaned, her jaw dropping. Suddenly, as if on instinct, her fist released, sending Pikachu crashing to the ground. He jumped up immediately as he hit, and bolted off towards Ash.

Jessie, James, and Meowth were still frozen in fear when Arcanine shot out its deadly flames, sending them in a fiery ball into the air.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" they shouted in unison as they disappeared into the blue sky.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu squealed, jumping into Ash's arms. Ash accepted Pikachu into his arms fervently, giving his Pokémon a hearty, emotional hug. Teary-eyed, he then looked up at Jay, who had just recalled Arcanine. His eyes met his son's, and in an instant Ash shot up and ran to his dad.

Jay knelt down as Ash crashed into him, swinging his arms around him to embrace him in a tight hug. Jay closed his eyes zealously as he held his son, who had buried his head into his shoulder. They gripped onto each other tightly.

"Thanks, Dad," Ash whispered joyfully into his ear, his voice garbled. Pikachu was smushed between the two, but not uncomfortably, so he wasn't bothered. He felt the connection between Ash and Jay, and graciously endured the pressure.

"Anything for you, son," Jay replied, patting Ash gently on the back. "You know I'd do anything for you."

Misty and Brock stood together, smiling pleasantly. Misty actually felt like she was going to cry. There came a long silence between Ash and Jay, it being the first real time that Ash had gotten a chance to realize just how much he loved his father and missed him incredibly.

Misty and Brock weren't the only ones watching, however. With the commotion going on, and the way Jay had shot across the lawn, Delia had come out of the house in a panic. When she saw Team Rocket, she didn't worry as much; for a moment, she had feared that one of the kids had gotten hurt. Her nerves calmed even more when Jay released Arcanine, and being the extraordinary Pokémon trainer that she had fallen in love with, she knew the conniving trio didn't stand a chance.

It was Ash who first noticed her standing there. He turned his head the opposite way on his dad's shoulder, and she immediately caught his attention. Although she was quite a few feet away, his eyes glued to her, he knew she was looking at them, and he smiled to her, waving his hand lightly.

Though he couldn't see it, Delia choked back another sob, and brought her hand up first to wipe the tears from her eyes, then to wave back to Ash.

TO BE CONTINUED . . .

There you go, Team Rocket fans. Unfortunately, this will be the only time they appear in this story. I hope you enjoyed their brief, destructive appearance. Please review!


	11. The Booby Trap

**Stars Fell on Pallet Town**

by Spruceton Spook

Part 11

The Booby Trap

After the incident with Team Rocket, Ash, Misty, and Brock sat relaxingly on the lawn, Ash seated in the middle. He was no doubt recovering from what he considered was the worst Team Rocket encounter ever, even though nothing really terrible had happened. Ash was now all smiles, his legs tucked under him comfortably, Pikachu resting pleasantly on his lap. His friends sat closely to him, Misty occasionally resting her head sympathetically on his shoulder. With a small chuckle, Ash accepted her friendliness openly, happy to have people who really cared about him.

Jay sat facing them, a small pile of Pokéballs in his lap. He felt that now was a good time to show them his Pokémon, hoping that it would calm Ash. It was working, too, and Jay's smile grew wider as he saw his son's eyes glisten at each Pokémon he let out. He had ten of them, but had only brought four with him from Viridian. After all, he hadn't been expecting to see Ash on this trip.

Along with Arcanine, Ash, Misty, and Brock were amazed at his Feraligatr, Vaporeon, and Blastoise. Ash got spunkier at each one that came out, but Jay knew that Ash didn't want to battle now. Both Pikachu and Chikorita were recovering, and Ash was in low spirits.

Jay ran a hand through his black hair and got up, stretching a little.

"Gonna be okay, Ash?" he asked sweetly.

"Hmm?" Ash asked, looking up as he heard his name. Though he loved seeing his dad's Pokémon, he was in a different world. "Oh…oh yeah. Sure, I'm fine. I'll be okay."

"Good," he said. "Well, I got some things I have to do. I'll see you guys later, 'kay?"

"All right," Ash replied.

Jay left them there, shuffling his Pokéballs in his hands. For a moment, the three sat in silence, Misty and Brock tugging grass out of the ground and Ash gently rubbing Pikachu's worn body. Misty glanced up and looked worriedly into his face.

"Ash," she said softly, waving her hand in front of his face, "you okay?" She finished with a small laugh, and Ash smiled.

"Yeah," he replied affirmatively.

"You look like you're in lala land," she giggled. "Thinkin' about something?"

Ash took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah."

"You're thinking about your parents again, aren't you?" Brock asked, already knowing the answer.

Ash nodded, his face falling into a frown. "I miss my dad." His gaze returned to Pikachu, and he tilted his head worriedly at his poor, tired Pokémon. "I guess I never realized how much."

Misty's heart fell. "Awww." She reached up and rubbed his shoulder affectionately.

She and Brock fell into silence again, feeling bad for Ash's misfortune. Suddenly however, Ash's head rose enthusiastically, and Misty and Brock startled at his huge smile.

"Tonight, though," he announced, pointing his finger at both of them. "Tonight's the night."

"What night?" Misty asked confusingly.

"Oh no," Brock moaned, burying his head in his hands. "You're not gonna make me cook again, are you?"

Ash broke into laughter. "No! Hehe, no, but I do have a plan."

"Another one?" Misty groaned, but with a grin.

Ash made a face at her. "You think I'm gonna give up that easily? Me, Ash Ketchum, _give up_?"

"Well, you certainly do have the stubbornness for this little project of yours," Misty shrugged with a giggle. "What's the plan?"

Ash got up, cuddling Pikachu in his arms. "C'mon back to the house. I'll tell you on the way."

What Ash didn't tell Misty and Brock was that he seemed to know that Jay wasn't going to stick around much longer. Which meant that they didn't have forever. Earlier that morning, Delia had told Ash that she needed the night alone with Jay, holding back the reason why in worry of upsetting him again. But Ash knew why, anyway. As soon as those papers were all signed, and they were sent in and confirmed, that would be it. It was time to work fast, especially when he was so close.

He couldn't help but get fidgety when, once again, Delia sounded a bit sad, not cheery the way she had the night before or that morning. But that was just because she had enjoyed her evening with Jay, Ash figured. Of course! That had to be it! If Delia hadn't enjoyed the dinner, she would have let Ash know it. Either by the sad, horrid face she would have given him or by screaming at him, demanding to know just what the hell was going on in his mind. But no, she was smiling, she was happy. She was in a great mood. The signs were positive.

Ash, Misty, and Brock exchanged secretive grins throughout the entire dinner. They had already set up half of the project, or booby-trap, as Brock had dubbed it. It had taken a while and they had to sneak around, but it was done. The second half of the plan was in the waiting, and Ash prayed that the night would unfold the way he hoped. He ate his supper with an optimistic, positive attitude, feeling his plan was nothing but fool-proof.

"Would you like me to do the dishes, Mrs. Ketchum?" Brock asked kindly, only to get a hard slap on the shoulder from Ash. "Uh, I mean…" He shrugged.

Delia giggled. "No, that's okay. I got it. You did them last night, anyway."

"Okay," Brock said, and he and Misty followed Ash out of the kitchen and upstairs.

"Ash, on the other hand…" she began, but Ash was already sprinting up the stairs, Pikachu in tow.

"Sorry, Mom! Can't hear you!" he yelled, causing Delia to chuckle.

"Go on you guys," she said to Brock and Misty. "Guess he wants you."

Brock and Misty smiled, and met Ash halfway up the stairs, where he was waiting.

"Are you insane?" Ash demanded, glaring with an evil smile at Brock.

Brock grinned nervously. "Hehe, sorry. Chores call out to me."

Ash sighed. "Forget about it. C'mon, let's go get ready!" A huge smile spread across his face, and the three of them dashed up the stairs swiftly. As soon as Ash got to his room, he turned his stereo on. Misty and Brock settled themselves on the beds.

"You got the CD?" Misty asked.

"Yeah," Ash replied, bringing it out from one of his drawers. "I'm glad I found it. I think my mom has more CDs than a music store."

Ash stared at the CD in his hand, almost unable to believe that he had found it. He turned it around, scrolling down to verify that song number six was the one he needed. The one that was his best shot. It had to be. Gazing at the title fondly, he smiled widely.

"Oh man, I can't wait till they hear this!" he exclaimed. "They'll think they're back at their senior prom all over again!"

Misty and Brock suddenly looked confused.

"Senior prom?" Misty asked. "I thought you said _Stars Fell on Alabama_ was their wedding song!"

Brock frowned. "Yeah."

"Pika!" Even Pikachu was a little surprised.

Misty was beaming. "Your parents went to the senior prom together? You didn't tell us that!"

Ash grinned. "Yeah. I can't believe I didn't tell you." He tapped the CD with his finger. "_Stars Fell on Alabama_ was the first song they ever danced to. That's why they made it their wedding song."

"At the senior prom?" Misty asked, still shocked. "Wow."

Brock cut in now. "So, they were prom dates?"

Ash nodded. "And they knew each other a grand total of _one day_." He giggled at Misty and Brock's shocked faces. "My mom met him the day before, and she didn't have a date. So she asked him."

"Just like that?" Brock asked.

"Just like that," Ash replied. "And my dad didn't even _go _to her high school. He was on a Pokémon journey."

Misty got up and paced. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on! Ash, how we supposed to do this tonight if you haven't even informed me and Brock about all this stuff? Me especially! There's so much more I we could have done!"

"Calm down," Ash soothed. "What we did will be fine. Besides, when they hear the song, hopefully that'll do it. If it doesn't…well, I dunno."

Ash realized that he never did tell his friends of his parents' colorful history. It just had never come up in their conversations, but Ash figured he would fill them in as the evening went on. Right now, all he could picture in his mind was his parents downstairs, wondering if they had settled down in the living room, where part one of his master plan would launch.

"Ash!" All of sudden, Ash's ears pricked at his mother's voice, and he jumped up with a start. He ran to the top of the stairs, where sure enough she stood.

"What, Ma?"

"Ash dear, lower the music a little," she said, emphasizing her request in whisper. "Your father and I can't hear ourselves think."

Ash's heart leaped excitedly. They must have been sitting down to work! "Okay, no problem."

"Thanks." She turned away, and with a small hop, Ash returned to his room.

"Okay, okay! Here we go!" Almost tripping over Pikachu, who had found a comfortable spot sprawled out on the floor, he immediately went to lower the radio, but just a little. "They're goin' to work now."

Misty and Brock got up.

"What do we do now?" Misty asked.

"Ummm, oh! Go down the stairs quietly, and watch to see if she finds the pictures. You'll be our look-out."

"Okay," Misty sighed. "C'mon Togepi, time to do some spying."

Ash stuck his tongue out at her as she left, which she happily returned.

Ever so quietly, Misty tip-toed to the stairs, making her way down silently. Holding a hand gently over Togepi's mouth, she poked her head slightly around the wall, catching a small but good view of the living room. Jay was seated in the single chair, a newspaper held up to his face. Delia was nowhere to be seen, but before Misty could whine to herself about waiting around for a while, Delia came out of the kitchen, a cup of coffee in her hands.

Misty's eyes rose in interest, searching around to make sure everything was as they left it. There were the new divorce papers stacked neatly on the coffee table, but all Misty was concerned about was what was underneath them. She uncomfortably shifted around on her feet, waiting impatiently for Delia to pick up the papers.

Jay never looked up from the newspaper, and Misty figured he was reading something interesting. He must have been, for Delia stared at him.

"Are we gonna do this, or what?" she asked despondently.

Jay's eyes rose from the paper. "Sure, I guess."

Delia shrugged and sighed, reaching for the papers. Misty's stomach flip-flopped excitedly and she beamed as their plan went under way.

_That's it!_ she thought_. C'mon, find them! Find them! Yes!_

Almost immediately, Delia's eyes caught the culprit, and she stared at them bewilderingly.

"What's this?" she asked to no one in particular, setting the divorce papers off to the side and reaching out to grab the small stack of photos that had appeared underneath.

Misty went up a few steps and turned back to Ash's door, where he was waiting nervously, his hands wringing. She gave him an ecstatic thumbs-up, and he did a small, joyous bounce. She returned to her look-out point, and watched as the booby trap was executed before her eyes.

A small smile spread across Delia's face as she held the old pictures in hands, going on to the next after looking at each one intently. There were at least fifteen of them there, all from various years. The first one on the pile was perhaps the earliest photo she had of her and Jay, when she was only eighteen and he was nineteen. She gazed fondly at it, the color fading a bit but still clear enough to show her silky, yellow prom dress, her arm locked into Jay's, the boy she had only met the day before. Looking at him in the picture and then sitting before her, she realized that he didn't change much, looks-wise.

The next was just a casual picture of the two, apparently taken at some sort of festival, which she immediately recalled was the county fair. That had been taken that summer, the summer when she and Jay were practically joined at the hip, their small spring fling beginning to blossom into true love.

Her silent escape into the past caught Jay's attention, and he grinned. "Whatcha got there?"

She looked up at him for a moment with a warm smile, and motioned for him to come over. He got up and sat beside her on the couch.

"Whoa!" she said softly and with a chuckle as the couch sloped under Jay's weight, sending her sliding down into him.

He giggled and leaned over. "Pictures?" he asked. "Where'd they come from?"

"Three guesses," Delia replied, her eyes still glued on them. "_Someone's _been going through the photo albums." For a moment, she tried to scoot over a little so that she wasn't leaning on Jay, but the slope was too much, so she forgot about it. "Awww, look at this."

"Awww," Jay repeated, gripping the picture himself. Together, they gazed down at a snapshot of the two of them in the hospital, a barely one-hour-old Ash cradled in Delia's arms.

Delia laughed. "Oh God, I look awful in this picture!"

Jay shrugged. "Well, you just got done giving birth to a beautiful baby boy. What do you expect?"

"Guess you're right on that," Delia answered softly, sighing happily. "He is beautiful, isn't he?"

Jay nodded, and Delia flipped to another picture, this one being a few years later. They were at a park, smiling happily into the camera. Jay and Delia had their arms around Ash, who was about four at the time, lifting him up off the ground. They remembered that it was at one of Jay's company picnics, one of many. For a second, Delia felt upset, becoming aware of just how much she missed those outings.

Back on the stairs, Ash and Brock had joined Misty, and they watched the scene attentively. Ash could barely control himself, but he did. He bit down on his lower lip hard, the smile breaking through anyway. His eyes sparkled more and more as he listened to his parents converse, flipping from one photo to the next. He remembered throwing in a lot of their wedding, but mostly ones with him. Though their backs were turned to them, Ash could tell when they had a picture with him in it, because either they would "awww" sweetly or laugh.

But what really made Ash excited was the way that the divorce papers were thrown off to the side, temporarily forgotten. As he starred down at the dreaded documents, he wished his eyes were capable of setting things on fire. The sight of them suddenly stirred up his ambition again, and he nudged his two friends.

"Come on," he whispered excitedly. "It's time for part two."

Brock gave him the thumbs-up, marking his cue. While Ash and Misty remained on the stairs, Brock bounded for the room, opening the CD case and plopping the disc into the machine. He remembered what Ash had told him, and for safe-keeping, scrolled to song five first.

Ash heard it blare out of his stereo, for it was still set pretty loudly despite what Delia had said. He figured she wouldn't mind, though, since this did happen to be one of her favorites. A song that Ash vaguely remembered hearing before, going by the title of _Nice Work If You Can Get It_, floated to his ears and hopefully down to his parents' a floor below.

With tense anticipation, he couldn't wait to see what happened next.

TO BE CONTINUED . . .

_What the hell is this?_ _ A_ _disclaimer?!_ Get out! Well, I guess I haven't done one of these in a long time, so besides the fact that it is clearly obvious that I don't own Pokémon and all the good stuff, neither do I own the fabulous, magnificent song _Stars Fell on Alabama_, which by now you've probably realized I based my story on. The version that I'm using for all those who are the least bit curious is the Frank Sinatra one from _A Swingin' Affair_, which is the CD that they're playing right now (_Nice Work If You Can Get It_ comes before it). I'm not sure yet if I'm gonna mention if it's Frank Sinatra in the story, but just as a side note, that is the version they're hearing. Just to let ya know!


	12. The Song

**Stars Fell on Pallet Town**

by Spruceton Spook

Part 12

The Song

Delia's head rose at the sound of her CD playing, and she scrunched her face in confusion. For a moment, she wondered why Ash was playing it, seeing how he'd never shown the least bit of interest in the CD, but she didn't mind. She figured maybe Brock or Misty wanted to hear it, and other than being a little loud, she kind of enjoyed it.

"Look at this one, Del," Jay said, pointing with a grin at a photo of her and Jay, standing with Ash on his first day of kindergarten. Delia's heart melted at the photo, and she gazed lovingly at it.

"I remember that day," she said.

"Remember when we thought how nervous he was going to be?" Jay recalled. "Heh, he was up before us that morning."

Delia laughed. "He always liked school. He really did. And he _would've _still been going if it weren't for you!" She gave him a playful shove, and Jay broke into laughter.

"Ah, c'mon. That kid was born to train Pokémon."

Delia finished her laughing moment with a sigh. "I suppose so."

Ash's heart began to pump as he realized that the song was just about ending. He tensed up, and started to tap his leg nervously. Misty grabbed his hand and held it still, catching him off-guard.

"Calm down, Ash," she said, smiling sweetly. "This is gonna work. I can feel it."

Ash took a deep breath, gripping onto Misty's hand tightly. It was warm and comforting, and he squeezed it more as the song drew to a close. "I hope so."

In a split second (or as it seemed to Ash), _Stars Fell on Alabama_ began to play, its mellow, soothing beginning purring from the stereo. Slowly, Brock made the volume higher, hoping that it didn't seem like they were making it louder for them to hear. Ash gleamed at the sound of the song he had heard so many times in his life.

If Delia was startled by the first song, she was practically shot with this one. As soon as her ears detected it, she tensed, gulping softly. It was "their song." A small chill ran through her when she thought of it. It had never occurred to her that _Stars Fell on Alabama_ came afterward, but now that she thought of it, she realized that she_ did_ know that.

She wasn't the only one who knew it was playing. Jay's head lifted, and Delia knew it, so she kept hers down, her eyes focused on another photo. She looked at Ash in the photo, and thought of how he was "conveniently" playing this song right now. Of course. Now she knew why he was playing it.

"He's playing it for us," she muttered to herself, shaking her head. She didn't know really what to think.

Jay picked it up, though, as muffled as it was. He shrugged. "Is that really a crime?"

Delia sat in silence for a moment, but the grinned a little. She shook her head. "No."

Jay was glad to see her grin. Little did he know, however, was the amount of strenuous pumping his wife's heart was doing, and she shook nervously. The flood of memories poured into her uncontrollably.

"This is our song, ya know," Jay said softly. "Or…you…you didn't forget that, did you?"

"No," replied Delia, looking at him shockingly. She turned back to the photos, the awkwardness of the moment radiating.

Jay smiled at her. "You wanna dance?" he asked with a shrug, and she immediately looked up.

Delia's heart took a tremendous leap as Jay uttered those three words, three words she hadn't heard in God only knew how long. She began to sweat a bit, and she clenched her teeth shut tightly.

"Oh, I…I don't know," she replied with a nervous grin. "I mean…I—I—"

"It's okay," he said. "It won't mean a thing. C'mon, it's our song. We always danced to it." He spoke sweetly and calmly the whole time, calming Delia's nerves a little. What made her even more fidgety was when Jay stood, holding out his hand invitingly to her. "I don't think we've ever _heard_ this song without dancing to it."

"Well, I—I haven't danced in a while," she said, getting a little hesitant.

"It's just for fun," Jay assured her.

Delia closed her eyes and nodded. "All right, then." She giggled nervously as they found the openness of the living room. They laughed even more as their arms became tangled into one another, apparent that neither of them had danced in a long time. Finally, their hands found the right places, and they began to sway back and forth to the beat of the song, which had sped up a bit since they had gotten up.

Ash couldn't believe what he was seeing. At first, they thought he was dreaming and he breathed in and out deeply.

"Misty? Are…are they really dancing?"

Misty turned to him with a wide, toothy grin and nodded. "Yes, Ash."

They looked back at Jay and Delia, who, although many inches away from each other, were dancing rhythmically to the graceful flowing song. Brock stood in the doorway of Ash's room, smiling down at Ash and Misty. For a moment, he pictured them as innocent, spying kids, grinning. And seeing the looks on their faces, he knew that all had to be going well.

Back down on the ground floor, Delia was finally settling into the dance, and relaxing her stiff body underneath her husband's hands. At first, her heart had pumped widely, and her contradicting feelings fought intensely within her. But now, to her surprise, she was getting into it, the flow of the music and the fun of dancing all coming back to her.

"See, I knew you wanted to dance," Jay said smoothly, feeling her move more freely to the music. He smiled widely down at her, his brown eyes sinking deep into hers. For a moment, she felt the craving to turn away, but something in her kept her from doing so.

Delia found herself getting dizzy, actually.

"Hey, this is fine," she replied. "Remember when everyone was watching us dance to this at the wedding?"

Jay laughed. "I'm so glad we took dancing lessons! Could you imagine us dancing out there stepping all over each other's feet and all?"

"Oh God!" Delia giggled. "That would have been so embarrassing! I mean, it already was a little, what with my parents taking pictures like they were."

They laughed together, not noticing that their uproar was drawing them closer together.

Ash saw this, and he beamed. "That's it, that's it," he cheered on silently. Misty looked up at him and grinned.

"Did I really step on your feet that much at the prom?" Delia asked him.

"I had to wrap bandages on them when I got home," Jay laughed. He shrugged. "But hey, I wasn't any great dancer, either."

Delia smiled. "You got better," she said reassuringly.

Ash was in seventh heaven. Not only were his parents dancing, but now they were even reminiscing! What kind of unearthly dream was he having? But what happened next Ash had to brace for more than any surprise attack he had even experienced in all his years of training.

Without warning, Delia wrapped her arms around Jay's neck.

Ash had no idea what was going on, and Misty immediately turned to him with an incredulous smile when it occurred. She stared into his shocked face, and slowly his eyes crept over to hers. They were glistened over in tears, but for once Misty was glad that they weren't from sadness or fear. An emotional thunderbolt had just struck him.

"Ash?" Misty asked calmly, her smile broadening when she noticed the emotion criss-crossing all over Ash's face. He had become speechless, seeing his parents embraced closely together, _Stars Fell on Alabama_ close to coming to an end.

When he didn't reply, Misty didn't press him for one. Feeling her own eyes tearing up, she wrapped her arm around her friend's shoulder, grasping him tightly in a hug. She felt especially satisfied when Ash did the same, slipping his arm around her waist. He pulled tightly also, bringing the two friends closely together.

"Stars may have fallen on Alabama," Ash suddenly said as he gazed down at Jay and Delia. "But tonight, they're falling on Pallet Town."

Misty nodded, a small tear streaming down her face. "This is the sweetest thing you've ever done, Ash."

Ash took a deep breath, which Misty could feel vibrate through her whole body. They still had their arms wrapped around each other, neither of them thinking of releasing. Finally, however, Ash began to stand up.

"Let's leave them be," he whispered, nodding.

Misty nodded in agreement, and with one more ecstatic glance, the two and their Pokémon headed for Ash's room.

What Ash didn't know was that Delia had simply placed her hands around Jay's neck to repeat the way the two clueless teens had danced at the prom. Jay knew this, and he giggled.

"What are you doing?" he asked. "You learned how to dance, didn't you?!"

"It's just so funny how we just did whatever we wanted on that dance floor," she explained. "I forgot what you did, though. All I know is, is that my arms were practically asleep when we were done."

Jay grinned. "I was doing this, I think," he replied, placing his hands on the lower part of her waist, resting on her hips. Delia recoiled a little under his touch, but it was so slight he didn't even notice it.

Delia broke into nervous laughter, but immediately calming herself. He laughed as well, and their arms returned to the previous way.

Delia grinned happily. "I was so happy today when I saw you get Pikachu back."

"Oh, you mean from Team Rocket?" Jay asked. He shrugged modestly. "Believe me, according to Ash, it was nothing."

"Not according to you, though?" she replied with a giggle.

"I've personally never had much contact with 'em," he told her. "But that was pretty easy."

Delia smiled pleasantly. "You came at just the right time. It was great."

"I'd do anything for Ash," Jay answered sincerely, losing his smile and replacing it with a serious face. He looked down at their dancing feet, and even though the song was quite upbeat now, they danced rather slowly. "I love him so much."

Delia sighed sadly, and her eyes fell, also.

"I hate being apart from him," Jay continued, meeting her raised eyes. "I think about him all the time. Think about where he is, what he's doing. What kind of Pokémon he's encountering."

Delia looked at Jay's face, suddenly seeing the face of the boy she had fallen head over heels for twelve years ago. She gulped.

_God, he's handsome_, she though, grinding her teeth at the thought. She fought at it, feeling herself suddenly losing her mind as she had done when she was eighteen, so green and unaware of what love was. She flinched when she felt a sting of tears in her eyes, and she blinked them furiously. _Stop thinking that!_

"You know…you…you could've come around more," Delia told him. "I mean, I know how it was and everything, but I _never_ meant for you to think that you couldn't see Ash. I didn't mean for it to be that way."

His sudden small speech had made her feel guilty. She wasn't sure if that's what he had intended, but she wanted to clear that up as quickly as possible.

"No, I could've come," Jay admitted. "But I didn't feel right, that's all."

Delia found herself falling into depression again. She had no doubt felt bad for Ash for all these years, wondering if the distant relationship between them was affecting him. It calmed her, though, to see how happy Ash was, only infrequently asking innocently if Jay had called or written him a letter. His small face had brightened every time he had gotten a birthday or other holiday card from Jay, usually accompanied by a fat check. Ash seemed pleased at that, not the least bit of upset.

What killed her the most was how much she saw Jay in her Ash. He looked just like him and acted just like him. She saw Jay in Ash every day, reminding her constantly of her husband, wherever he was.

Knowing the time would come, Ash's eyes shut blissfully as _Stars Fell on_ _Alabama_ concluded, ending the same way it had begun. He was satisfied. The song had done its job, and he was pleased. So as not to bring up any suspicion, he let the CD keep playing. His heart was beating furiously, a smile spread from ear to ear. He, Misty, and Brock were silent, all in shock. Who would've thought the plan would have been _that_ successful?

Jay and Delia continued to dance into the next song, but as soon as _Stars Fell on Alabama_ had ended, the dancing suddenly became incredibly uneasy. They had stopped talking, both looking off in different directions, neither of them attempting to break up the dance, though. Jay liked dancing with Delia again. He wondered if she knew that. He _hoped_ she knew that. He gazed down despondently, figuring that most likely she didn't feel the same.

But Delia had liked dancing with him. Although she felt uncomfortable all of a sudden, she was hesitant to stop. She couldn't fight the fact that she wanted to keep dancing, but she didn't know why. Did she like the fact that she was dancing with Jay, or just the fact that she liked to dance? Anxiously, she rubbed Jay's warm, broad shoulders, a chill running through her spine. What the hell was happening to her?

As she rubbed his shoulders slightly, she clenched her muscles as she felt Jay rub her back in response. Oh no, had she given him the wrong message? What had she done? She shook her head and held her breath, not knowing what to do now.

"You know," Jay said suddenly, startling Delia. She looked up at him. He appeared saddened. "We…we really should get to work on the papers."

Delia released her hands from Jay, and they parted from the dance. The papers! She had totally forgotten! The memory of them flew to her head at that moment, and she blinked in confusion, smiling slightly.

"Oh yeah," she replied, brushing some hair out of her face. "I—I forgot."

Jay nodded glumly. "Shall we then?"

Delia shuddered at his dull, dejected voice. What a rotten time. She glanced over at the papers, lying slightly scattered on the couch. Right beside them were the photos, and she quivered.

"Y-you know, I…uh, I—I think I'm really not in the mood to do those right now," she stuttered nervously, the whole time asking herself why she had suddenly become doubtful. "I'm kinda t-tired. You…you don't mind if w-we…do this tomorrow, do you?"

She rushed the last sentence, coming out in a mumbled jumble. A small 'whaddah ya say?' grin crept to the corner of her lips. Jay looked surprised at first, and she knew just why. She had practically hounded him all day to get the papers done, and now she was just going to put it aside like that? She trembled, her conscious battling her furiously. For a moment, she felt like she was going insane. What was going on?

_What am I doing?_ she thought_. We really should get the papers done. What am I saying? God, I want to go to bed. I need to think._

Jay nodded with a concerned look on his face. "That's okay. You look tired anyway."

Delia nodded. "Yeah…um, I'll be fine."

Jay smiled warmly. "Go to bed then."

"Okay," Delia smiled back, and for a moment they stared at each other, the memory of the dance fresh in their minds. Delia immediately turned away, taking a deep breath and began to make her way to her room. The room she had spent three years of lonely nights sleeping in. Her walking became slower and harder. She could feel Jay watching her, and it felt good. She found herself blinking crazily again, wanting to whack herself in the head a couple times.

_What's happening to me? Why am I feeling this?_

"Goodnight, Delia," Jay said, and she smiled. "I'll kiss Ash good-night for you."

Delia froze in her tracks, a sudden rush of tears coming to her eyes. She turned back to Jay and he nodded, giving her a small grin and a friendly wave. She took a deep breath, and turned back around, smiling wildly at her insanity. She needed a good-night's sleep more than she thought. Delia reached up and brushed her flooded eyes, leaving her cheeks slightly damp.

The thought of the tears disgusted her. She hadn't cried since the night that Ash had called, and, well…she didn't feel like doing it again. Thank God Ash had stopped asking about that. It was especially hard the first time, Delia not knowing how to tell Ash that she was crying because she was divorcing the man that twelve years ago she thought she was going to spend the rest of her life with. The man who had swept her off her feet, making her feel happy and worriless, giddy and spontaneous, comforted and loved. Just like he had done…tonight.

Delia tried to fight it, but it was no use as she spun around to face Jay. Instead of meeting his eyes, she found him seated back on the couch, the stack of photos in his hands once again. His back was turned to her, and while he looked through the pictures oblivious that his wife was watching him, she smiled, her eyes lowering. Her heart never ceased pumping.

"J-Jay?" she asked, and he spun around in surprise. A look of concern spread across his face, but she smiled to reassure him.

"What's the matter?" he asked calmly.

She exhaled loudly, giving him an easy face. "You…you know, you…don't have to sleep on the couch tonight if you…don't want to."

_What in God's name did I just do?! Stupid, stupid!_ she beat herself up internally, feeling as if she was going to have a heart attack. She continued to try to beat the impulsive feelings down, but the damage had already been done.

To her relief, however, he shook his head, smiling warmly. "No, Delia. It's okay."

"Oh…okay," Delia said quickly, reluctantly turning. _Phew! _ But…where did these disappointing feelings suddenly come from?

Jay got up from the couch, half out of wanting to, and half out of feeling that he had to. Delia just stared at him as he walked over to her, taking her hands in his own. A little hesitantly, he kissed her cheek gently, making her shake pleasantly.

_Wow that felt good_, she thought. _Shut up! Shut up! No it didn't!_

"Thanks for being sweet tonight, Del," he told her. "And that's just for being that. Heh, don't die on me. That meant nothing."

Scratching her head, she couldn't stop the sudden flush of pink that spread across her face. She shrugged nervously, and turned away as quickly as she could, heading for her room to leave Jay standing in disarray in the living room.

TO BE CONTINUED . . .


	13. Mixed Feelings

**Stars Fell on Pallet Town**

by Spruceton Spook

Part 13

Mixed Feelings

Delia entered her room baked in a nervous, sticky sweat. She actually felt comforted as she closed the door quietly behind her, the whole night replaying in her head over and over in swirls. She leaned on her bed and breathed in and out steadily, her mixed feelings at a bloody war. She closed her eyes and held her throbbing head, too overcome with excitement.

Now that she was away from Jay, she sighed heavily and considerably, letting all bundled up within her out in one breath. She was confused and slightly afraid at what was suddenly taking place—something she would have never expected.

Freezing a little, she finally made her way over to her jewelry box, which sat atop her dresser. The top part opened to display all her regular jewelry, but that was not on her mind. Gently, she dug underneath the mess of bracelets and necklaces, all the way to the bottom of the box. They almost shone out at her, and with a hesitant pause, she plucked her two rings out.

She held each in a separate hand, the beautiful, extravagant rings glistening in the dim light of her bed lamp. She looked fondly but sadly first at her diamond-studded engagement ring, the same one Jay had presented to her that warm August night. God, how that had shocked both her and their families! She had accepted it anyhow, recalling how she ecstatically threw herself into his arms, sobbing in happiness.

Then she looked at her platinum wedding ring, also glimmering with diamonds, the same one he had slipped onto her finger on the altar of her church, vowing his love for her. Vowing. How that had gone wrong. Just as she couldn't help recalling the day they had met on that warm, October afternoon, she found herself engulfed with memories now.

She remembered it clearly, the day before the long anticipated Viridian City High School Senior Prom. How much she wanted a date to the prom! She was going whether she had one or not, a small group of friends arranging the whole thing. But Delia was the only one without a date. And although she made her friends believe she didn't care, deep down she was dreading the upcoming, lonely night.

That's when she spotted Jay. When school let out that day, there he was, leaning against the fence outside the school, a little group of people surrounding him. At first glimpse of him, her stomach did a somersault, her eyes fixated on the most gorgeous guy she thought she had ever seen. Suddenly, she had felt drawn to him, and noticing one of her good friends among the small group, she immediately made her way over.

Turned out Jacey Ketchum was the cousin of that good friend, and it took no hesitation for her to be introduced to him. It was a casual, friendly introduction, but the two hit it off immediately, Delia finding it interesting that he was on a Pokémon journey, something she had never had the opportunity to do. He felt sad about that, telling her that he would show her his Pokémon later on if she wished. With an ecstatic leap, she agreed to meet him that afternoon, since he was staying at her friend's house, anyway.

Asking him to the prom was something she had pressed against the back of her mind, put beside the wild dreams and fantasies she had concocted. But she had had such a great time with him that day, becoming totally immersed in his charming personality and sense of humor, and asked him in passing if he wanted to come to the prom the next night. She almost had a heart attack when he said yes.

How those few months went by so quickly! But they were great months, and Delia felt that in that short time she had discovered the meaning of true love. Because she had found hers. It was confirmed ultimately when she found herself sick each morning a few months later, making her dream of creating a family come true at just the young age of nineteen.

Staring down at the rings, Delia felt the urge to try them on more and more. She hadn't had them on since the day Jay had confessed to her that he had slept with another woman, and remembering that suddenly made her shiver, but she couldn't fight it any longer. She grasped the diamond ring and began to slip it over her finger.

The unexpected knocking on the door brought her out of the dream state she had fallen into, and only a second later did the door open slowly. Delia quickly scrambled, stuffing the rings quickly back into the box.

"Mom?" Ash's voice came floating from behind the door, relieving Delia's fear that it would have been Jay doing the knocking.

"Oh, Ash," she said as Ash came modestly into the room. "Hey, sweetie."

Ash came silently into the room, a little hesitantly out of nervousness.

Delia held her arms open, and Ash, who was relieved, strolled over into them, and the two wrapped up in a hug. Delia rocked him back and forth, kissing him on the top of the head and rubbing his back vigorously. Slowly, she pulled out of the hug, and folded her arms in front of her.

"Had a little fun tonight, Ashton?" she said, giving him a sudden stern look that made Ash's heart take a leap.

His face fell and a look of fear swept to his eyes. Delia kept the stern look, but deep down she was giggled at how easily he could get worried. Finding it a little cruel, however, she replaced it with a sincere 'just kidding' smile that made Ash relax.

"I'm teasing you, silly!" she said. "Goodness, you're such a bundle of nerves!"

Ash giggled and blushed, happy that he wasn't in trouble again. "Uh, yeah, I guess."

She rubbed his shoulders up and down. "That was really sweet of you, Ash. It was really nice."

"It—it was?" Ash asked, looking down at the ground. He didn't know what to say at that point. Was his mom being serious, or was she just hiding the fact that he placed her in an incredibly uncomfortable position? He giggled again, feeling a little embarrassed. "You…you're not mad at me?"

"Of course not," Delia replied, ruffling his hair. "But I know what you're up to."

Ash looked away. "Oh. I'm sorry. But I…"

Delia immediately cut him off. "No, no sweetie. Listen…"

She gazed down at him, smiling softly. He knew. He had to know. Now was the time.

"Can...?" she started, bringing his head up. "Can I ask you a question?"

Ash stared into her eyes, which looked a bit uneasy and worried. This worried him, as well, but he slowly and confusingly nodded his head.

Delia took a deep breath and bit her bottom lip. "Does…does your dad really want the divorce?"

Ash's heart bounded for his throat, and he quickly gulped, almost thinking that it would calm it. His eyes widened at the question, which Delia no doubt noticed, but all the same he needed to answer.

"I—I don't know," Ash said quickly, his eyes finding the ceiling. "I don't know."

What a lie. He hated to lie. Especially to her. And Ash had blown it to boot. So many times had Jay told him that he wanted to make things right. But Delia knew that, didn't she? How long had he been waiting for that question? Perhaps it was the suddenness of it that had set him off course.

Thankfully though, Delia knew he was lying. The mother's gift, and Ash felt it illuminating from her by the way she was somberly looking at him. With a small sigh, he stared into her eyes.

"No," he said simply, blinking once slowly. "He doesn't want the divorce. He never did."

Delia looked at the floor and nodded, but came back again with another question. "Is he sorry, Ash?"

Ash was shocked by that question. The first had been sudden but normal, an innocent quest for the truth. But this question! Although Ash was excited, he couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with the pressure that Delia was placing on him just then.

Ash didn't lie this time. This was the opportunity that he had craved, and it had come so quickly that he barely even realized it. "Yes, Mom. He's sorry." At that, his voice cracked a little, and he fought back an emotional sob. "Wh—what are you thinking, Mama?"

"Nothing," Delia replied quickly, turning away from him. She reached over and shut her jewelry box closed.

"Then why were you just looking at your rings?" Ash asked, his enthusiasm urging the question out of him.

Delia froze and kept her back to him, her hand resting heavily on the box. She scrunched her face up as her eyes suddenly became warm with tears. She shut them closed tightly to seal them within her.

"I wasn't looking at them," she muttered, fighting the tears more and more.

Ash got nervous, not liking the way she was acting. "Mom…?"

Delia suddenly turned to him, and her eyes opened and two tears fell from her flooded eyes, and Ash immediately embraced her, grasping his arms firmly around her waist. He felt her chin rest on his head and each vibration as she began to cry, clutching at Ash's shirt for support. His eyes teared up, as well, totally overcome with the moment that he didn't know if he had accidentally fallen asleep and was dreaming.

"Oh, Ash! I don't know what to do!" she blurted out in between sobs, holding Ash tightly.

"What do you mean, Mom?" Ash asked, burying his head into her. Tears began to slip from his eyes.

"I don't know if I'm making the right decision," she cried. "I thought I was, but now…now, something just doesn't feel right."

Ash didn't care anymore about holding back what he believed. "Because you love him, Mom! I _know_ you do."

Delia was silent for a moment. "I…I don't know…"

"He loves you!" Ash cried fervently. "Dad loves you! He wants to be with us. He's sorry! He's sorry for what he did!"

"I know," she admitted softly. She had known it for a long time.

Ash looked into her eyes. "Then why are you doing this? If you love him, and he loves you, why are you making yourself do this?!" All this came out in what seemed to be pleas. Delia's eyes fell, and she appeared to fall into deep thought.

"I've only been doing this because I thought I needed to. I've been following my principles, Ash. I shouldn't ever take him back, and I know I shouldn't, but it's hard. It's so, so…_hard_…"

"Shhhh," Ash soothed, wanting badly to wipe his wet face. They held each other for quite a few minutes, Delia's crying finally dwindling down as she held her son closely to her. She thought of Jay, too, probably getting all ready for bed. On the couch. No, she didn't want that. She wanted him to hold her. She wanted him to kiss her. She wanted him to…

_No!_ she told herself, shutting her eyes tightly. _Why are you_ thinking _this?!_ Her conscience returned dreadfully again, viciously battling her feelings for Jay. The Jay that hurt her. The Jay that hurt Ash. The Jay that had promised to give himself to her and to no one else. She had made the same promise, but she had kept hers, and he didn't. She shouldn't forgive him, no…not ever.

But how she wanted to.

Finally, Delia sniffed and patted Ash lovingly on the back. She desperately needed her time alone. Her thoughts had to be sorted out, lest she'd never get peace. "Okay," she whispered. "All right... I think it's time for bed, mister."

"O-oh. Okay," Ash allowed, happily but sleepily. He was tired, but he didn't know if he was going to be able to sleep that night. Hell, he had _done_ it! All he could think of was the impossibly high odds he had put on it actually working, and it had surpassed them.

Delia stroked his face and kissed his cheek. She held the kiss there for some time, then released it softly. "Good-night, my baby boy."

Ash rolled his eyes at that, but gave her a warm smile. "Night, Mommy," he said with a laugh, as he turned to leave. Delia gazed at him lovingly as he left.

With his hand on the knob to open the door, Ash looked back at his mom. "There's not much time left," he said seriously and a little downcast, and she nodded. His voice fell a bit. "Maybe…maybe you should start listening to your heart."

"I know," she replied nervously. "I have some serious thinking to do."

"I love you," Ash said.

"I love you, too."

Ash smiled warmly at her and left her alone. He closed the door quietly behind him, and although he was incredibly tempted to run to tell his dad the news, he decided it was best not to. He bounded to his room swiftly, the effect of the evening suddenly filling him with hyper happiness.

Misty and Brock were crashed on the bed together, their faces inches from an open Pokémon magazine that they were both looking at.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu cried excitedly, bringing both their heads up from the magazine to notice Ash in the doorway. The Pokémon leapt into Ash's arms, and Ash rubbed his head.

Misty and Brock stared at Ash, their eyes wide in anticipation. Ash stood there speechless for a moment, closing his eyes as a small smile of bliss took over his face.

"What?" Misty asked, beginning to get up from the bed.

"What happened?" Brock asked, waving his arms to encourage him to spill it.

Ash took a deep breath and smiled widely and proudly. "We did it," he said simply and silently.

Misty and Brock looked at him, shocked.

"We…we did?" Misty asked, astonished.

Taking a deep, sweet breath, Ash nodded.

Misty burst into happy, excited laughter. She clasped her hands over her mouth, which fell wide open. She leapt off the bed and ran to Ash, who she threw her arms around to embrace in an ecstatic hug.

Ash almost toppled over as Misty crashed into him, but he returned the hug. Misty began to hop up and down while she held onto Ash, which caused him to begin to do so, also, to keep up with her fractious reaction.

"I can't believe it! I can't believe!" she cried into his ear. She pulled away from him and smiled. "Oh my God, wh—what happened?"

"Calm down, Misty, calm down," Ash said, restraining her gently. He was laughing crazily, as well. "Sit down and I'll tell you."

"I can't sit down!" Misty screeched happily.

Brock walked up to them. "Come on, Ash! What's happening down there?"

Ash beamed. "I went to see Mom, and she's, like, totally ballistic right now cause she…she doesn't know if she wants to go through with it."

"You're kidding!" Brock exclaimed.

"You mean it was that song that did it?" Misty asked, surprisingly, her heart pounding from all the excitement. "That was all she needed?"

"Well, no," Ash explained, wringing his hands to keep his anxiety down. "I don't think she wanted to do it this whole time."

"So we helped her," Misty came to the conclusion.

"Seems that way," Ash replied. He started to do small little hops. "I can't believe it, though. It's…it's just so sudden."

"Well, I'm glad I told you to go down there," Brock said. "And to think you were scared to do it!"

Ash giggled. "Well, I'm glad you convinced me, buddy," he said, holding out his hand for Brock to shake. Brock grasped it tightly.

"No problem," Brock replied.

Misty patted Ash's shoulder. "So what now?"

Ash shrugged, wondering just how he was going to get through this night. "I dunno. I guess we'll see tomorrow morning." A small shiver of excitement swept through his veins.

Misty and Brock seemed to take deep breaths in unison. What a night they had all had! Neither of them could believe Ash's outrageous account of Delia's reaction. Although their hopes were high, a little part of them expected Ash to come back miserable, bringing with him bad news that it hadn't worked, or worse yet, that he was yelled at or punished for the uncomfortable situation he may have caused. But to their delight, it had worked out just as they had imagined, or pretty damn close to it.

Misty watched as Ash made his way to his rollaway bed, where he collapsed. He looked up at the ceiling, and Misty could see that he was in a state of pure shock. At that moment, she wanted to run to him to hug him again, telling him how she never knew he had it in him. He did have a romantic side to him after all! Ash knew what love was, and he knew how it worked. She sighed happily to herself, and climbed the ladder to Ash's bed to pull her pajamas out from under the pillow.

They all fell silent as their heads hit the pillow that night. None of them spoke, but neither were they asleep, the whole night spinning in their minds. Ash stared up at the dark ceiling, watching the shadows of the trees dance across it. He smiled happily to himself as he stroked Pikachu's fur, who was purring softly under his trainer's touch.

_Oh please, God,_ Ash prayed in his mind, closing his eyes slowly to become more immersed in the prayer. _Please help Mom. Please let her know what to do._

At that, Ash lost consciousness, and drifted into a deep and pleasant slumber.

TO BE CONTINUED . . .


	14. The Stars Have Fallen

**Stars Fell on Pallet Town**

by Spruceton Spook

Part 14

The Stars Have Fallen

Ash, Misty, and Brock seemed to wake up in unison. When Ash opened his eyes, he was staring across the room at Brock. Brock stared back at him and smiled. Groggily, Ash returned the smile and rolled over, yawning loudly.

Forcing himself up on his elbows, Ash flipped around to rest on his stomach. Stretching his legs out behind him, his eyes found their way to Misty, who lie on her back, Togepi sitting upright and awake on her stomach. He knew by that that Misty was awake, and sure enough, Misty's head rose slightly when she heard him and Brock rustling.

"Hey," she whispered, yawning herself.

Ash smiled. "Mmmmmm," he replied, dropping his sleepy head back into his pillow.

"Looks like it's gonna be nice out again, guys," Brock said softly, gazing out the window. Bright sunshine shone through, and he smiled happily at the gentle tweeting of the birds.

"Oh, that's good," Misty replied, her head back to rest on the pillow.

Ash was silent, but he couldn't help it. It was so quiet downstairs, but then again, it _was_ quite early. He yawned again as he drifted off into deep thought, ignoring his droopy eyelids as they begged for more sleep. He couldn't sleep, however. All he could think about was them. The stillness from below was making him a little fidgety, and he wanted to go down.

"I want to go downstairs," he said out loud to Misty and Brock.

"So then go," Misty encouraged.

Ash looked up at her and smiled sheepishly. "I'm scared, Misty."

She giggled. "Aww, don't be, Ash. You don't have to worry."

"Yeah," Brock put in. "I mean, whatever's gonna happen today is gonna happen. You're just going to have to accept whatever it is."

Ash nodded, feeling the back of his pajamas stick to his back. His heart pounded softly, and he couldn't fight the feeling that he was worried. In fact, he was nearly terrified. What if he went down there and Jay was gone? What if his mom's negative feelings had returned?

"Come on, Ash," Misty coaxed. "Me 'n' Brock'll come with ya. We'll be right behind you."

Ash looked from her to Brock, who nodded.

"Pika," Pikachu said, rolling onto his back and smiling at Ash. Ash giggled and rubbed the Pokémon's belly. Suddenly, he felt a little better, and a small sensation of optimism shot through him. Why think bad thoughts? Just because they came along easier didn't mean he had to listen to them.

"All right," Ash agreed, swinging his legs out from under the sheets. "Let's go down. I'm hungry, anyway."

Misty and Brock grinned excitedly and got out of bed, as well. Ash slipped his slippers over his cold feet, and stretched his tired limbs. Misty jumped from the second to last step of the ladder, and ran her hands through her tangled hair, ruffling it up. She looked at Ash and began to giggle, then went over to fix his mussed-up hair.

"It looks _that_ bad?" Ash asked, feeling the silliness of the moment take the edge off his nervousness. His hands reached up to pull at his spiky hair.

Misty laughed. "Naw, it's cute. Leave it."

"Okay," Ash replied. He turned to his door. "C'mon, let's go."

Ash, Misty, and Brock made their way down the stairs quietly, just in case Delia and Jay were still asleep. Ash led the group, and as soon as the living room became visible, his eyes shot immediately to the couch to see if Jay was still there.

What the three unsuspecting kids saw next totally shot them out of the water. Ash stood at the landing of the stairs, his jaw dropped as far down as it could go. Misty and Brock glanced at each other simultaneously, then incredulously back at the scene before them.

Asleep on the couch were Jay and Delia. Delia was practically hanging off the couch, which was much too small to hold the two, but Jay's strong arm was draped around her, holding her on. The large blanket that had sufficed Jay fine was grasped tightly in Delia's hand, who had obviously tugged it over her to keep warm, for none covered Jay. Delia's other hand was holding his softly, their fingers linked loosely and delicately.

Ash, as if hypnotized, tiptoed quietly over to them, his mouth agape. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Ash—" Misty whispered, reaching out to hold him back.

Brock grabbed her hand and shook his head no, motioning for her to let Ash go. Misty watched as Ash made his way slowly to his sleeping parents, a small, skeptical smile tweaking his lips.

Millions of thoughts were running through his mind as Ash approached them, ever so quietly as to not wake them. He didn't want to, the sight of how peaceful they looked making him want to look at them that way forever. Tears of happiness and shock crept to his eyes and his heart pounded, and he lost all consciousness of the world around him. Carefully, he knelt down before them and rested his head softly where their hands were joined, shutting his eyes blissfully as he fully absorbed the moment. He could feel both of them breathing, but especially Delia's, whose was soft and relaxed.

A moment later, Ash felt his mother stirring, and his head rose to look at her. She groaned sleepily, squinting her tired eyes to adjust to the sight of Ash, who gazed at her warmly.

When she noticed it was her son, she was a little shocked, and Ash could see that. "Good morning, honey," she said sleepily, her voice garbled.

"Hi, Mom," Ash answered, the words coming out in a puff of breath. He had nothing more to say at that point, and continued to gaze at her in practically a loving stupor.

"Ash," she sighed softly in whisper after a moment. A small, radiant grin spread across her face. "I listened to my heart."

Ash didn't respond, but the single tear that dripped from his eye was enough of a response for his mother. Shutting his eyes, he leaned over and tenderly kissed her cheek. Delia accepted the kiss happily, closing her eyes to become absorbed in it. She was with her husband and her little boy, who was now aware of the amazing conversion that had occurred overnight, and she was blissfully content.

Ash's leaning over was enough to arouse Jay, who began to stir, his eyes still clenched from the deep sleep. His moving made Delia smile nervously as she quickly planted her one foot on the ground to keep herself from falling off the couch. Ash grinned at her, then glanced at Jay, who sleepily opened one eye. He groaned, bringing the arm he had had around Delia up to stretch.

Ash's face brightened in a broad smile as he made eye contact with Jay, who smiled back, reaching over to rub Ash's head. "Hey, squirt," he grunted, and Ash giggled.

"Hi, Dad," he breathed.

Brock and Misty were still standing on the stairs, watching the event inaudibly. Misty could hardly believe what she was seeing, but it was all true, and it could only possible mean one thing. But so suddenly?! Delia didn't take much time making up her mind…but then again, maybe she had made her mind up a while ago.

Suddenly, she felt Brock tugging softly on her arm. "Come on, Misty," he whispered into her ear. "Let's go make breakfast, huh?"

Misty knew that he was just hinting to leave the Ketchum family alone to be together, and she nodded. The two slowly made their way to the kitchen, finding it hard to turn their heads away from the couch, where Ash was looking admiringly at his mom and dad, still lying on the couch.

"What happened?" Ash asked them, his voice remaining low. He had not fully accepted what he was seeing, and the astonishment in his voice was clearly evident.

Delia looked up at Jay, and he smiled down at her. They both turned back to Ash. For a moment, Ash could swear that they were both blushing slightly, a little embarrassed of the situation.

"Uh…" Delia muttered, suddenly breaking into giggles.

Jay began to laugh, too. "Well…"

"How 'bout this?" Delia asked, finally finding a way to tell Ash. She motioned her head beyond Ash's, who confusingly turned. Still flabbergasted, he turned back to them.

"What?" he asked.

"Behind you," Jay told him, motioning the same way Delia had.

"On the table, dear," Delia continued.

Ash was still a little perplexed, but he turned and glanced down on the coffee table. His eyes fixated on a small, familiar stack of papers resting on it, and a little hesitantly, he picked them up.

He knew what they were instantly, and Jay and Delia were aware of that. But Ash had no clue as to what their intentions were, or what they were trying to tell him.

"What do you want?" Ash asked calmly and a little nervously, causing his parents to look at each other again and grin. Ash held the second set of divorce papers loosely in his hands, shaking a bit even having the overly precious papers in his possession, the fearful memory of what had occurred two days before still fresh in his mind.

Jay winked his eye at Ash, who flinched. "We want you to rip them up for us, Ash."

Ash's eyes widened in surprise, and he almost dropped the papers. "_W—What?!"_

Both of them flashed him even wider, toothier grins, unable to contain their giddy laughter any longer. Ash's eyes darted between his mom and dad, still confused. He was slowly getting the picture, however, and his heart began to beat vigorously.

"You heard what your father said," Delia said, a little seriously.

A small, confounded grin crept to the corners of Ash's lips. "D-does this mean…?"

Jay and Delia nodded simultaneously, and without another second passed, Ash leapt, throwing his arms around both of them. They had just enough room underneath him to turn around on the backs, to grip him wherever they could. Ash's eyes filled with tears as he hugged his parents, finding his father's side to bury his flushing face in. He couldn't believe this!

After embracing for a couple of minutes, Ash pulled himself away, a bit worried that he was crushing his mom. Thankfully, though, they were too happy and too excited to see Ash's reaction that nothing else mattered. Ash took a deep breath to calm himself, upon finding him scrutinizing his mother's face. She noticed this, and cocked her head in wonder to what he was thinking.

"Mom?" Ash began, but Delia knew from there.

"Shhhhh," she hushed him, bringing her hand up to stroke his face. "I know, I know. You want to know what happened, huh?"

Ash nodded, his smile fading as he got set to concentrate every thought on her explanation. After all, he still had not successfully comprehended the moment. The divorce papers still hung lifelessly in his hand.

"Well," she started, shifting herself to rest on her elbows. Jay moved his arm to let her move, but as soon as she was settled again, he placed it around her comfortingly and lovingly. "When you left last night, I didn't know what to do. All I could think of was you and your dad, and I got ready and took a shower and all to get myself calmed down."

Ash nodded again, absorbing fully what she was saying. He watched as Jay rested his chin on her head, playfully blowing her loose hair around.

Delia sighed heavily. "So, I went to bed, but I couldn't sleep. I found myself laying in bed for, geez, three hours? I—I could only remember good things then, and I was trying desperately, _trying_, _trying_, to knock some sense into me, but…I couldn't. I really don't know what happened, but as if I were _sleepwalking _or something, I found myself involuntarily leaving my room and running to Jay."

"And keep in mind, Ash, this was, like, one in the morning!" Jay butt in.

Ash laughed, but turned back to his mom.

"I nearly scared the living daylights out of him!" Delia recalled happily. "He was asleep, so I had to wake him up."

"_Quite_ forcefully," Jay added, highly emphasizing his statement.

Delia laughed as she remembered the event. "I was crazy, Ash. Seriously nuts. I was crying and everything. I started shoving him and shoving him, and well…"

Jay smiled, and proudly continued. "She told me that she didn't want to sleep alone." He gazed down admiringly at her, gently stroking her hair. "And neither did I.

"So, she curled herself up on the couch with me," Jay went on slowly and pleasantly, "and at first, it was a little cramped, but despite what I said, she insisted that we stay here. I wasn't gonna argue, because, well, your mother's so dead-set."

Ash laughed, nodding agreeably. "She sure is!" he replied, knowing exactly why Delia didn't invite him to the bedroom. _Good ol' Mom_, he thought to himself, shaking his head.

"So?" Ash asked, causing Jay and Delia to stare at each other and blush. Ash giggled as did they.

"We talked till six this morning, Ash," Delia said, rubbing her eyes.

Ash's eyes widened in shock, and he turned to look at the clock on the mantle, which only read eight in the morning. He scratched his head awkwardly.

"Sorry," he apologized, but soon he was back to his questions again. "You…you guys talked till six? About what?"

"About everything," Jay answered. "We had a lot of talking to do, because of how suddenly things flipped themselves around. We..."

"We decided were gonna try to fix things," Delia finished, finding the perfect words. She breathed in deeply. "I think we can do it, too."

Ash's heart bounded gleefully, the words he wanted to hear so precisely jump to his ears. He bit his lip down forcefully to keep from whooping out in joy, but instead, focused all his attention on the papers. Before Jay and Delia's excited eyes, he slowly tore the papers in two, letting the loose shreds fall languidly from his hands.

Looking up hopefully at them, his mom and dad nodded their approval, and Ash beamed in exuberance. Then, to his extreme and unbelieving shock, he witnessed Delia bringing her head up gracefully to Jay as he brought his down, and their lips locked together gently. They closed their eyes delightfully as they engaged in the intimate kiss, holding it there solidly for a good couple of seconds.

Ash's eyes glistened in tears, and he took deep breaths to calm his raging nerves. He hadn't seen them kiss in years, and he had wondered, oh, so many times, if he would ever see it again. And here it was, right in front of him. Jay and Delia released from the kiss and stared profoundly into each other's eyes, smiling affably at each other. At the same time, they looked over Ash, and couldn't do anything but snicker at his surprised expression.

"Come here, you," Delia said, grabbing and pulling him over to her. She pressed her lips to Ash's cheek. He shut his eyes as she kept the kiss there almost as long as she had with Jay, and she stroked his hair robustly.

"Thank you, Ash," she whispered softly into his ear. "Thank you so, so much."

"You're welcome," Ash replied in whisper, too. He leaned over and planted a kiss on her cheek. "I love you."

Misty and Brock stood in the entranceway of the kitchen, staring affectionately at the family as the emotion struck them like a bullet. Misty freely let the tears fall from her eyes and she grasped Togepi tightly, unable to believe what was happening. Brock was near tears, as well, but kept them in successfully by biting his tongue. In that moment, they looked up at each other simultaneously.

"Nice work, Misty," Brock told her, extending his hand, and she smiled proudly.

"Same to you, Brock," Misty replied, reaching out to shake his hand. Her smile lightened as her eyes set on Ash, who was bent over his sudden love-struck parents. At that moment, he looked so joyful, so innocent, so cute. Misty bit her tongue as she sent Ash a soft, mental message.

_Nice job to you, too, Ash. Nice job._

Back on the couch, Delia took a deep, satisfying breath as she stared into Ash's glistening eyes.

"I love you, too," Delia replied. "I have the best son a mom could have."

Ash smiled embarrassingly at the wonderful compliment, blushing. "That's 'cause I have the best mom." He then looked up at Jay, and with an exhilarated sigh, added, "And dad."

Jay smiled and pulled him in to hug him. Delia grabbed Ash, as well, and the three embraced in a tender hug, their first family hug in what seemed to Ash forever.

STAY TUNED FOR THE CONCLUSION!

No, not the end yet! Last part is next, and will sum up and conclude the whole story. Hope you like it!


	15. Epilogue

**Stars Fell on Pallet Town**

by Spruceton Spook

Part 15

Epilogue

"Ughhhh! Where _are _they?" Ash groaned, tapping his foot impatiently.

"They'll be out soon," Brock answered. "Calm down, will ya?"

"Yeah, Ash," Misty added. "Give them a break."

Ash, Misty, and Brock were standing in the front yard of the Ketchum house, their backpacks freshly stuffed with food, clean clothing, and supplies. Ash had a huge wad of money stored safely away in his backpack, which was enough for a good couple months till he needed to borrow more. Pikachu sat atop his head, raising his head to warm it in the basking sunlight. It was a beautiful day, perfect for them to set off once again towards their destination, the Johto League.

Ash shuffled around on his toes, finding it quite difficult to calm down. He hadn't been able to settle for three days, ever since his parents had gotten back together. After that eventful, surprising morning, everything seemed to go right for Ash. The troublesome days beforehand were just a distant memory, a small bump in the road. Ash totally immersed himself in the joy of having his family back together as one, along with having Misty and Brock by his side the whole time.

He was a bundle of ecstatic energy those three days, which, for him, were three of the greatest days of his life. No more worrying. No more planning. No more crying. Ash felt that he hadn't cried so much in his life, and if he needed to again, he wasn't sure if he had any more tears left in him. It had been an emotional roller coaster ride, and although Ash loved roller coasters, this was a ride he _never_ wanted to go on again.

Jay and Delia were also high strung, especially Delia. Her glum, moody disposition vanished, and she returned to her old self again, which was a relief for the three kids. She was more than overjoyed at finding what was missing in her life, and that was the love of her husband, which she had come to realize had never left her.

At first, she had a hard time getting used to it, but by and by, the three days did their wonder. She and Jay had gone out the night after she had cracked, and it turned out to be a more than wonderful evening. Delia was still a little cautious over getting too romantic around him, but what started a small, simple kisses had ended up many times being full, vivacious make-out sessions. She didn't mind it, though—far from it. In fact, she loved it. It made her feel young, and not to mention, like a million bucks. Her heart pounded excitedly each time as they engaged in the kissing, but she restrained herself from allowing it to go any further. She figured Jay had no problem agreeing, also, since he never made any inclination of doing so.

Neither Delia nor Jay had gone to work since that morning, staying home to spend time together with Ash, Misty, and Brock. Delia made even more elaborate suppers each evening, and this time Ash consumed the food as he always had, wolfing it down without hesitation and with a smile from ear to ear.

Ash finally had gotten the chance to have the long awaited battle with Jay, too. With Misty, Brock, and Delia as spectators, they had established it to be a three-on-three battle. But after a while, Ash and Jay were having so much fun that the competition slowed to the point where there was none, and they continued to send out their Pokémon in a non stop bout with no winner. A couple of times, Ash defeated his father's Pokémon, but he found it tough. Both he and Jay were smiling the whole time, never really getting serious about the whole thing.

It ended with Pikachu letting off an electrifying array of thundershocks, sizzling Jay's Vaporeon. Jay ran up to hug Ash, telling him how proud he was of what a strong trainer he turned out to be. For Ash, this was better than getting any trophy or winning any badge. Battling his Pokémon hero was complete bliss in itself, and Ash was just thrilled to have the opportunity to "show off" what he knew.

Even though he loved being home, Ash figured it was time to start off west again. Though he never told his parents, he wanted to go mostly so that they could have some time to themselves to work things out without having to worry about him. He didn't want to leave, but he thought of what was best for them. His mom begged him not to go, but accepted it after Ash insisted that he was really eager to get another badge.

The day that Ash had decided to leave on had come, and now the three stood outside waiting for Delia and Jay to come out to say good-bye. They had been waiting there for a good ten minutes, and Ash was getting more and more restless. Though it was early, he was very anxious to get going.

"_Moooommmmm_!" Ash called loudly, cupping his hands over his mouth. "C'mon!"

Misty frowned at him. "Ash! Be patient! We're in no rush."

"Togi togi!" Togepi agreed in a gleeful squeal.

Ash turned to Misty. "I know, but they're just foolin' around in there and costing us precious traveling time." He huffed, and redirected his attention back to his house.

Misty sighed loudly and looked to the ground. Deep down, she didn't want to leave Pallet Town just yet. She was greatly enjoying this particular visit, and a couple more nights in Ash's comfortable bed wouldn't have hurt, either. But Ash wanted to get going, so she wasn't going to complain. She looked over at Brock, who was leaning on the fence and tapping his fingers on it. He caught her looking at him, and he grinned, which she returned.

"New Bark Town again, Brock?"

Brock nodded. "First stop, yeah. We'll just pick up right from there." Misty could see that he was a little tired, and she tilted her head lightly.

"Don't feel like going, either?" she asked with a small chuckle.

Brock shrugged. "Just as long as we can make this trip in _more_ than a day."

Misty giggled just as Ash's mom emerged from the house, Jay right behind her.

"Finally!" Ash shouted in frustration.

"Oh, hush you," Delia replied, whacking him playfully on the shoulder. She retrieved her hand, and Ash could see the newly familiar flash come from it. Delia had put her rings back on a couple days ago, and Ash always felt a rush of excitement burst through him when he noticed them.

"You can wait another three minutes," she continued. Jay came up from behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, gently bringing her in to kiss her neck. Delia giggled and turned her head around to meet his lips with her own.

"Oh, break it up! Geez, I'm already getting tired of that!" Ash teased. On the contrary, he could never get tired of it.

Jay stopped kissing Delia and rushed at Ash, growling playfully as he swooped his son up in his arms.

"No! Don't go! Don't go!" he begged him boisterously, twirling him around energetically.

Ash laughed, trying to pull out of his father's tight grip. "Hehe, put me down, Dad! I gotta go!"

Jay put him down and knelt to his level. For a moment, the two looked at each other in silence. Jay began to stroke Ash's face, and Ash relaxed pleasantly at the touch.

"Make me proud, Ash," Jay said, gently pretending to give him a playful punch. "You'll do that for me, won't ya?"

Ash smiled softly. "'Course I will, Dad."

"Well, you'd better!" Jay replied jokingly, chuckling softly after. "You've got my talent and your mother's spunk. You'll clean up in no time. Bring me home a Johto trophy, ya hear?"

"Oh, don't worry about that! I will!" Ash beamed.

Jay smiled warmly at Ash, and pulled him into a hug. Ash shut his eyes as he embraced him, gripping him tightly around his neck. Jay pulled Ash's head down to kiss the top of it, then reached over to pet Pikachu. The Pokémon purred happily as Jay stroked his long ears.

"I love you," Jay said. "And I'm routing for you the whole way. Just remember that."

"Love you, too," Ash replied, his eyes sparkling. He looked up then at his mother, who was already smiling down at him. Ash moved around Jay to get to her, flinging his arms around her waist. Delia clutched him tightly, rubbing his back softly.

"I'll miss you, Ash," she whispered lovingly, a bit of sadness in her voice.

"I'll miss you, too," Ash replied, burying his head into her. "I promise I'll win for you."

Delia laughed, and released from the hug. "You be good, okay? Stay out of trouble."

"I will," Ash replied with a positive grin.

"And don't forget to change—"

"Oh my God, I will, I will!" Ash laughed, startling Delia as he jumped into her arms again. "You know I will."

Delia was being pulled down by Ash's weight. "All right, all right." She rubbed Ash's head, pulling his hat down over his head. She reached up to pet Pikachu, also. "You'd better get going, now."

Ash nodded, and he turned to face Misty and Brock. They smiled widely, and Ash made his way over to them, finding it a little hard to move away. He turned back to his parents, who had since then found each other's arms again.

"Bye Mr. and Mrs. Ketchum!" Misty shouted to them, waving.

Brock waved at the same time. "Hope everything turns out all right!"

Delia and Jay waved back at them.

"So long, kids! Have fun!" Delia yelled happily.

"Nice to meet you two!" Jay said.

"And don't worry about us!" Delia added. "We'll be just fine!"

"Bye!" Ash, Misty, and Brock called out together, waving as they made their way down the street.

"So, when are we gonna make it to New Bark Town, Brock?" Ash asked with a mischievous grin. "Tonight?"

Brock and Misty face-faulted.

"In your dreams, Ash!" Brock shot back with an incredulous grin.

"You can go right ahead!" Misty giggled. "Me and Brock'll meet you there this time."

Ash broke out into energetic laughter, and looked back at his folks to wave to them again. They were still there, and waved back.

Ash couldn't believe his eyes as he left. Usually accustomed to seeing just his mom standing there, now it was both of them. Together. With their arms around each other. As he put his waving hand down, they did, as well, just to look up lovingly at each other. The last thing Ash saw was his mom and dad kissing gently again, and it was the greatest feeling in the world to know that he wasn't leaving his mom alone. She was going to be happy now, and he wasn't going feel guilty.

Misty saw the same sight, and with a small, silent sigh, she bit her bottom lip. Lowering her eyes satisfyingly to the ground, a slight chill ran down her spine as she imagined herself one day being part of them. _Someday_. She then glanced up at Ash.

Ash could feel her attention on him suddenly, and surprisingly to her, his eyes met hers. Misty immediately hid her shock, instead smiling gently at him. He returned the smile, looking her straight but tenderly in the eye.

"Thanks for helping me, Misty," he said softly.

She smiled modestly, lowering her face to the ground to hide her blush. Suddenly, she didn't care anymore, and looked back up at Ash. "Anything for you, Ash," she replied, exposing the blush fully.

Ash drew back a little bit at the blush, but nodded affably. Looking out at the road before them, his eyes glistened with expectation. The road to the Johto League. And one step closer to becoming a Pokémon Master, and making his dream come true for himself…and his parents.

The End

That's all, folks! Thanks for reading and supporting me! Spruceton Spook


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